New Members

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Leader of the House if he will co-ordinate a series of Tuesday morning briefings for new hon. Members by each principal Government department on its work, with the exception of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Geoff Hoon: My right hon. Friends would obviously be more than happy to arrange briefing meetings at mutually convenient times with any new hon. Members on the work of their Department.

Methane Energy

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the amount of energy that will be generated from methane from (a) waste sites, (b) coal mines and (c) other sources in each of the next three years.

Elliot Morley: Estimates for energy generated from methane sources for the next three years are shown as thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (kTOE) in the following table:
	
		
			 Methane source 2006 2007 2008 
		
		
			 Operating deep mines 18 17 14 
			 Abandoned mines 30 43 45 
			 Landfill gas (electricity) 1,338 1,441 1,545 
			 Landfill gas (heat) 14 14 14 
			 Sewage gas (electricity) 170 178 187 
			 Sewage gas (heat) 64 72 79 
			 Anerobic digestion on farms minimal minimal minimal 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Estimates from coal mines are based on current generation and projections for mine closures. Number of mines generating is less than number of mines open.
	2. Estimates of energy generation from landfill and sewage gas are derived by linear interpolation, consistent with the most recent projections published by the Department of Trade and Industry for 2005 and 2010.
	3. The number of digesters currently used for anaerobic digestion on farms in the UK is thought to be very small.

Poultry Industry

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the threat to the UK poultry industry from avian flu.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 14 July 2005
	If there is an outbreak of disease in an exporting country Defra takes appropriate emergency safeguard action in accordance with Community legislation. This may include a ban on imports of animals and animal products from all, or parts, of that country.
	Safeguard measures in relation to Avian influenza (Al) were put in place for affected Asian countries in January 2004 and have since been extended to 30 September 2005. Restrictions were placed on South African imports in August 2004 and have now been extended to 31 December 2005.
	The assessment of risk to the UK poultry flock of Avian influenza began in 2004 and is continuously reviewed. When there is an outbreak in a country a specific risk assessment is carried out by DEFRA experts. These assessments are published in the Vet Record Quarterly and also on DEFRA's own public website http://defraweb/animalh/diseases/monitoring/).
	In the event of an outbreak of Avian influenza in poultry in this country DEFRA would immediately invoke its exotic animal disease generic contingency plan, which sets out measures for the management of an outbreak of Avian influenza. The plan has been the subject of a formal public consultation exercise, in particular taking on board comments from the UK poultry industry.

Rainforest

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the loss of rainforest habitat in square miles in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Information on forest loss is published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. The FAO estimate that the net percentage of forest cover lost worldwide between 1990 and 2000 was 2.37 per cent. This represents an estimated total worldwide loss in forest cover between 1990 and 2000 of 362, 834 miles 2 .
	This information is only available for all types of forest cover and in set assessment cycles. The last assessment cycle was to 2000, it is not possible to isolate figures from 1997, or just for rainforests.
	Please see the table which summarises the current global data available for forest resources by region.
	Forest cover date for individual countries may be found in the "Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000 Main Report". This is published by the FAO and is available online via the following web link:http://www.fao.org/forestry/fo/fra/main/index.jsp
	
		Forest resources by region
		
			   Forest area 2000 
			  Land area Natural forest Forest plantation Total forest Area change 1990–2000 (total forest) 
			 Region ha ha ha ha Percentage ha/capita ha/year Percentage 
		
		
			 Africa 2,978,394 641,830 8,036 649,866 21.8 0.8 -5,262 -0.8 
			 Asia 3,084,746 431,946 115,847 547,793 17.8 0.2 -364 -0.1 
			 Europe 2,259,957 1,007,236 32,015 1,039,251 46.0 1.4 881 0.1 
			 North and Central America  and the Caribbean 2,136,966 531,771 17,533 549,304 25.7 1.1 -570 -0.1 
			 Oceania 849,096 194,775 2,848 197,623 23.3 6.6 -365 -0.2 
			 South America! 1,754,741 875,631 10,455 885,618 50.5 2.6 -3,711 -0.4 
			 Total world 13,063,900 3,682,722 186,733 3,869,455 29.6 0.6 -9,391 -0.2 
		
	
	Note:
	Table taken from appendices to: "Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000—Main Report".

Recycling

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much and what percentage of domestic waste was recycled in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: Results from the last five available years of tonnages of household waste collected for recycling and corresponding household waste recycling rates are from the joint Defra/Greater London Authority (GLA) Municipal Waste Management Survey.
	The four London joint waste disposal authorities have been included in the following table:
	
		
			  1999–2000 2000–01 
			 London authority Recycling (tonnage) Recycling rate (percentage) Recycling (tonnage) Recycling rate (percentage) 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,226 3 2,532 4 
			 Barnet 10,245 8 10,332 8 
			 Bexley 18,398 18 18,305 17 
			 Brent 6,165 6 7,122 7 
			 Bromley 20,530 13 23,064 13 
			 Camden 12,691 13 16,061 16 
			 Croydon 15,377 13 16,455 12 
			 Ealing 15,095 12 15,083 12 
			 East London Waste Authority 18,571 5 17,300 4 
			 Enfield 8,521 9 8,454 8 
			 Greenwich 4,840 4 7,091 5 
			 Hackney 1,740 2 1,043 1 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 4,849 7 5,362 8 
			 Haringey 4,449 5 4,973 5 
			 Harrow 8,723 10 9,418 11 
			 Havering 6,931 8 5,383 6 
			 Hillingdon 10,936 11 13,345 13 
			 Hounslow 14,961 14 13,130 13 
			 Islington 1,864 2 4,386 5 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 8,694 13 5,458 8 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 13,302 18 13,165 20 
			 Lambeth 7,810 8 9,745 9 
			 Lewisham 4,558 4 5,211 5 
			 London Corporation 8 0 13 0 
			 Merton 10,438 11 11,991 18 
			 Newham 2,563 3 2,370 3 
			 North London Waste Authority 48,299 7 55,896 8 
			 Redbridge 6,851 8 7,015 9 
			 Richmond upon Thames n/a n/a 14,020 15 
			 Southwark 3,162 3 3,104 3 
			 Sutton 24,182 27 20,754 25 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,816 3 2,058 3 
			 Waltham Forest 7,373 9 7,934 9 
			 Wandsworth 7,262 7 7,397 7 
			 West London Waste Authority 72,225 9 73,578 11 
			 Western Riverside Waste Authority 39,834 11 29,240 8 
			 Westminster City 6,122 7 6,388 7 
		
	
	
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
			 London authority Recycling (tonnage) Recycling rate (percentage) Recycling (tonnage) Recycling rate (percentage) Recycling (tonnage) Recycling rate (percentage) 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,045 3 2,090 3 3,553 5 
			 Barnet 11,478 8 17,936 13 22,888 16 
			 Bexley 22,793 20 25,915 23 22,532 21 
			 Brent 6,997 7 7,725 8 9,919 10 
			 Bromley 22,816 14 23,121 15 29,296 20 
			 Camden 11,208 12 13,857 14 18,281 19 
			 Croydon 14,777 12 15,740 13 17,377 14 
			 Ealing 13,186 13 15,526 15 15,494 15 
			 East London Waste Authority 29,015 6 29,645 6 37,707 8 
			 Enfield 13,323 13 15,019 14 16,585 16 
			 Greenwich 8,362 7 9,591 7 12,966 12 
			 Hackney 1,073 1 2,426 3 5,151 6 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 5,448 8 5,667 10 8,901 16 
			 Haringey 4,404 5 4,365 5 8,715 9 
			 Harrow 9,624 13 8,767 12 12,377 16 
			 Havering 8,399 9 4,104 5 7,349 8 
			 Hillingdon 20,036 20 24,853 28 32,095 34 
			 Hounslow 13,516 16 16,269 20 15,329 20 
			 Islington 4,513 6 4,864 6 5,624 7 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 5,621 9 5,162 9 8,517 15 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 12,903 18 13,515 18 14,342 19 
			 Lambeth 8,761 8 9,312 10 10,200 11 
			 Lewisham 6,473 6 7,148 7 8,939 8 
			 London Corporation 9 0 50 1 442 8 
			 Merton 10,623 15 11,580 15 10,732 16 
			 Newham 3,290 3 5,247 5 2,938 2 
			 North London Waste Authority 52,668 7 72,533 10 94,459 12 
			 Redbridge 8,202 10 11,101 13 8,509 9 
			 Richmond upon Thames 15,414 19 17,910 23 18,684 24 
			 Southwark 3,828 4 4,755 4 7,518 7 
			 Sutton 13,669 16 16,498 19 21,652 25 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,138 3 2,684 3 4,088 5 
			 Waltham Forest 6,669 8 8,975 11 9,982 12 
			 Wandsworth 7,765 8 9,558 10 15,662 18 
			 West London Waste Authority 80,370 11 94,967 14 107,389 16 
			 Western Riverside Waste Authority 29,739 8 32,213 10 46,202 15 
			 Westminster City 6,870 9 7,455 10 9,065 11 
		
	
	n/a = not available
	Further details regarding London waste and recycling issues are obtainable from www.capitalwastefacts.com.

Crossrail (Exeter and Plymouth)

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Crossrail on (a) reliability and (b) speed of train services to Exeter and Plymouth.

Derek Twigg: During normal operations on the great western main line into Paddington, Crossrail will operate on the northern pair of tracks, known as the relief lines. Crossrail services will not affect the southern pair of lines, known as the main lines, on which services to Exeter and Plymouth operate, and there is no intention of displacing existing traffic from the relief to the main lines.

EU Contractors

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list companies based in other EU member states that are providing (a) bus services, (b) train services, (c) maintenance services to Network Rail, (d) London Underground services and (e) London Underground maintenance services.

Stephen Ladyman: None.

International Car Free Day

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to support International Car Free Day on 22 September.

Karen Buck: holding answer 14 July 2005
	The Department sponsors the UK Co-ordinator of the "In Town, Without My Car!" campaign to oversee the process by which local authorities in England and Wales register to participate in International Car Free Day.
	Each local authority have been sent a newsletter and information about European Mobility Week which will take place between 16 and 22 September and they have been invited to register to participate in the event.
	Regional workshops are being held and information disseminated via the DFT website linked to the campaign. A Good Practice Guide is also available free of charge to members of the public.
	The results of the campaign are registered on the website of www.22september.org and are used to monitor progress and the effectiveness of individual initiatives.

Transport Innovation Fund

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what document the funding available for local authorities under the Transport Innovation Fund was announced; and where in the document the information is provided.

Karen Buck: The Transport Innovation Fund was announced in the "Future of Transport" White Paper (July 2004), showing the predicted budget profile (annex A) and outlining the aims of the TIF.
	Further information on the Transport Innovation Fund was published on 5 July 2005 in a paper entitled "The Transport Innovation Fund" and a statement was made to the House on 5 July 2005, Official Report, columns 171–73.
	The Transport Innovation Fund paper is available in the House Libraries and on the DfT website at www.dft.gov.uk

Bill Sponsorship

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list Bills sponsored by the Department and its predecessor in each Session since 1979.

Bridget Prentice: A list of Bills sponsored by my Department, and its predecessor since 1997 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Session Bills 
		
		
			 1997–98 Audit Commission (Consolidation) 
			  Human Rights Magistrates Courts (Procedure) 
			  Petroleum (Consolidation) 
			  Statute Law Repeals 
			  Supreme Court Offices 
			 1998–99 Access to Justice 
			  Contracts (Right of Third Parties) 
			  Trustee Delegation 
			 1999–2000 Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) 
			  Trustee 
			 2000–01 Commonhold and Leasehold Reform(1) 
			  Criminal Defence Service (Advice and Assistance) 
			 2001–02 Commonhold and Leasehold Reform 
			  European Parliamentary Elections 
			  Land Registration 
			  Public Trustee (Liability and Fees) 
			 2002–03 Courts 
			  European Parliamentary (Representation) 
			  European Parliament and Local Elections (Pilots) 
			 2003–04 European Parliament and Local Elections (Pilots)(2) 
			  Constitutional Reform 
			  Gender Recognition 
			  Mental Capacity 
			  Statute Law Repeals 
			 2004–05 Criminal Defence Service(1) 
			  Constitutional Reform(3) 
			  Mental Capacity(3) 
			  Inquiries 
			 2005–06 Criminal Defence Service 
		
	
	(1) The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill fell in the 2000–2001 session and the Criminal Defence Service Bill fell in the 2004–2005 session due to lack of Parliamentary time.
	(2) The European Parliament and Local Elections Bill was carried over from the 2002–03 session.
	(3) The Constitutional Reform and Mental Capacity Bills were carried over from the 2003–04 session.

Magistrates Courts

Mark Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which magistrates courts have closed since May 1997, broken down by parliamentary constituency; and what the date of each closure was.

Harriet Harman: Up until 1 April 2005 magistrates courts were the responsibility of locally managed magistrates courts committees. The magistrates courts that have closed since May 1997 broken down by parliamentary constituency are set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Courthouse Date Constituency 
		
		
			 Magistrates courthouse closures from May 1997  
			 Bromsgrove 31 May 1997 Bromsgrove 
			 Ledbury 31 May 1997 Leominster 
			 Hebburn 5 June 1997 Jarrow 
			 South Shields (Kepple Street) 5 June 1997 South Shields 
			 Chippenham (Market Place) 30 June 1997 North Wiltshire 
			 Ashton under Lyne (Manchester Road) 31 August 1997 Ashton-Under-Lyne 
			 Duckinsfield 31 August 1997 Denton and Reddish 
			 Thorne 31 August 1997 Doncaster North 
			 Pontardawe 9 October 1997 Neath 
			 Braintree 31 December 1997 Braintree 
			 Stokesley 31 December 1997 Richmond (Yorks) 
			 Clacton on Sea 31 October 1997 Harwich 
			 Bargoed 31 December 1997 Caerphilly 
			 Monmouth 31 December 1997 Monmouth 
			 Pontlottyn 31 December 1997 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 
			 Pontypool 31 December 1997 Torfaen 
			
			 Magistrates courthouse closures in 1998  
			 Malton 6 February 1998 Ryedale 
			 Marlborough Street 31 March 1998 Cities of London and Westminster 
			 Bishop's Stortford 31 March 1998 Hertford and Stortford 
			 Hatfield 31 March 1998 Welwyn Hatfield 
			 Hitchin 31 March 1998 Hitchin and Harpenden 
			 Market Rasen 31 March 1998 Gainsborough 
			 Chertsey 31 March 1998 Runnymede and Weybridge 
			 Farnham 31 March 1998 South West Surrey 
			 Oxted 31 March 1998 East Surrey 
			 Lutterworth 31 July1998 Harborough 
			 Ripon 1 August 1998 Skipton and Ripon 
			 Barnard Castle 31 December 1998 Bishop Auckland 
			 Clerkenwell 31 December 1998 Islington South and Finsbury 
			 Sheerness 31 December 1998 Canterbury 
			 West Malling 31 December1998 Tonbridge and Malling 
			 Lytham 31 December 1998 Fylde 
			 Diss 31 December 1998 South Norfolk 
			 Corwen 31 December 1998 Clwyd South 
			 Felixstowe 31 December 1998 Suffolk Coastal 
			 Haverhill 31 December 1998 West Suffolk 
			 Saxmundham 31 December 1998 Suffolk Coastal 
			 Stowmarket 31 December 1998 Bury St. Edmunds 
			 Newmarket 31 December 1998 West Suffolk 
			 March 31 December 1998 North East Cambridgeshire 
			 Saffron Walden 31 December 1998 Saffron Walden 
			
			 Magistrates courthouse closures in 1999  
			 Christchurch 31 March 1999 Christchurch 
			 Abingdon 31 March 1999 Oxford West and Abingdon 
			 Henley on Thames 31 March 1999 Henley 
			 Windsor 31 March 1999 Windsor 
			 Morley 31 March 1999 Morley and Rothwell 
			 Pudsey 31 March 1999 Pudsey 
			 Stow on the Wold 30 June 1999 Stroud 
			
			 Magistrates courthouse closures in 2000  
			 Ampthill 1 January 2000 Mid Bedfordshire 
			 Biggleswade 1 January 2000 North East Bedfordshire 
			 Dunstable 1 January 2000 Mid Bedfordshire 
			 Leighton Buzzard 1 January 2000 Bedfordshire South West 
			 Lichfield 31 March 2000 Tamworth 
			 Keighley 1 April 2000 Keighley 
			 Keswick 30 April 2000 Workington 
			 Windermere 31 May 2000 Westmorland and Lonsdale 
			 Wigton 31 May 2000 Penrith and the Border 
			 Appleby 31 May 2000 Penrith and the Border 
			 Gravesend 9 June 2000 Gravesham 
			 Wootton Bassett 2 October 2000 North Wiltshire 
			 Abergele 31 December 2000 Clwyd West 
			
			 Magistrates courthouse closures in 2001  
			 Alfreton 1 January 2001 Amber Valley 
			 Ashbourne 1 January 2001 West Derbyshire 
			 Bakewell 1 January 2001 West Derbyshire 
			 Matlock l January 2001 West Derbyshire 
			 Leigh 31 March 2001 Leigh 
			 Middleton 31 March 2001 Heywood and Middleton 
			 Leek 31 March 2001 Staffordshire Moorlands 
			 Worcester 31 March 2001 Hereford and Worcester 
			 Warrington Patten Hall 1 April 2001 Warrington South 
			 Macclesfield Park Green 1 April 2001 Macclesfield 
			 Bideford 30 April 200l Torridge and West Devon 
			 Exmouth 30 April 2001 East Devon 
			 Kingsbridge 30 April 2001 Totnes 
			 South Molton 30 April 2001 North Devon 
			 Teignmouth 30 April 2001 Teignbridge 
			 Tavistock 30 April 2001 Torridge and West Devon 
			 Axminster 4 May 2001 East Devon 
			 Tiverton 4 May 200l Tiverton and Honiton 
			 Newquay 30 June 200l North Cornwall 
			 Southampton (Commercial Road) 31 August 2001 Southampton Itchen 
			 Womborne 1 September 2001 Staffordshire South 
			 Gillingham 30 September 2001 North Dorset 
			 Bridlington 9 November 200l East Yorkshire 
			 Brough 9 November 2001 Haltem 
			 Driffield 9 November 2001 East Yorkshire 
			 Hull (Guildhall) 9 November 2001 Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle 
			 Hull (Lowgate) 9 November 2001 Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle 
			 Pocklington 9 November 2001 East Yorkshire 
			 Withernsea 9 November 2001 Beverley and Holderness 
			 Arundel 1 December 2001 Arundel and South Downs 
			
			 Magistrates courthouse closures in 2002  
			 Bridgenorth 31 January 2002 Ludlow 
			 Leominster 31 January 2002 Leominster 
			 Fakenham 1 May 2002 North Suffolk 
			 Tunbridge Wells 2 June 2002 Tunbridge Wells 
			 Beaconsfield 1 July 2002 Beaconsfield 
			 Buckingham 1 July 2002 Buckingham 
			 Evesham 30 November 2002 Mid Worcestershire 
			
			 Magistrates courthouse closures in 2003  
			 Thame 31 January 2003 Henley 
			 Droitwich 21 October 2003 Mid Worcestershire 
			 Machynllech 31 March 2003 Meirionnydd Nant Conwy 
			 Chester Le Street 31 March 2003 North Durham 
			 Rugeley 31 May 2003 Cannock Chase 
			 Lampeter 9 June 2003 Ceredigion 
			 Tenby 30 June 2003 Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire 
			 Camberley 30 June 2003 Surrey Heath 
			 Trowbridge 30 September 2003 Westbury 
			 Whitchurch 3 October 2003 North Shropshire 
			 Long Sutton 31 October 2003 South Holland and the Deepings 
			 Caistor 31 December 2003 Gainsborough 
			 Horncastle 31 December 2003 Louth and Horncastle 
			
			 Magistrates courthouse closures in 2004  
			 Richmond 31 March 2004 Richmond (Yorks) 
			 Stourbridge 23 June 2004 Stourbridge

Magistrates Courts (Running Costs)

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  what the average running costs per day are of (a) the Community Justice Centre in Liverpool and (b) an average magistrates court;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to evaluate the cost-benefit of the Community Justice Centre in Liverpool.

Harriet Harman: The information is as follows:
	The Community Justice Centre will not be fully operational until September. The court is currently hearing cases in a courtroom of Liverpool magistrates court and the daily running costs are approximately the same as for the other courtrooms. The average cost of a magistrate's courthouse per day is £4,382 and a courtroom is £111 (figures for 2003–04). The cost of providing the multi agency problem solving team is £666 per day. The cost of this team is not currently borne by a mainstream magistrates court, as the function is performed to some extent elsewhere and is accounted for by the CJS agencies (eg Probation, YOTs).
	The evaluation will compare the resources that are being used in the existing CJS agencies dealing with one courtroom with the cost of those based within the centre. The effectiveness of the existing CJS agencies framework against the joint approach of the centre will be measured in their outcomes. An example of this would be a reduction in antisocial behaviour or the number of young people getting involved in crime. The evaluation will also measure qualitative benefits such as the level of victim and witness satisfaction.

Remote Electronic Voting

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what research the Government have conducted on remote electronic voting.

Harriet Harman: The research into remote electronic voting is primarily conducted through pilots under S. 10 of the Representation of the People Act 2000. There have been 27 e-voting pilots in 2002 and 2003 and these were all evaluated by The Electoral Commission which reported on each of the pilots and also published a strategic evaluation.
	In addition to piloting, research has been jointly commissioned by the Government and key stakeholders investigating the issues surrounding the implementation of electronic voting in the UK. This research was published in May 2002.
	As part of the work being done on electoral modernisation there is on-going consideration of e-voting technologies used worldwide and their performance in pilots and elections.

Business Representatives

Michael Meacher: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the business representatives with whom he has had meetings (a) at Number 10, (b) within Parliament, (c) at Chequers and (d) elsewhere since 1 January; which organisation they represented in each case; and what the main topic for discussion at each meeting was.

Tony Blair: I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Marine Environment

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister how many representations he has received from members of the public in support of greater protection for the marine environment; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: The information is not available in the format requested. Given the volume of correspondence I receive covering a broad spectrum of issues, my office records letters by subject rather than by the view expressed.
	Since 1997 I have received over 20,000 representations on the environment, including over 1,000 campaign cards on "a future for our seas?" in 2004.

Sickness Absence

David Davies: To ask the Prime Minister how many days his Office has lost due to sickness in the past five years for which figures are available.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the Cabinet Office report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service", copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Corporate Branding (Costs)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what costs were incurred by the (a) Medical Supplies Agency and (b) Warship Supply Agency in (i) corporate branding and (ii) external consultants used in set-up and continuing activities.

Adam Ingram: A detailed breakdown of costs incurred by the Warship Support Agency (WSA) both during set-up and through-life, on corporate branding and external consultants, specifically in support of its agency status, is not held separately and cannot therefore be provided. External consultants were used prior to Agency formation to help determine the structure and working methods of the WSA Strategic and Executive Boards. The cost of these activities is not available; however, it is likely to have been minimal.
	A detailed breakdown of costs incurred by the Medical Supplies Agency (MSA) both during set-up and through-life, on corporate branding, specifically in support of its agency status, is not held separately and cannot therefore be provided. Figures relating to the establishment of the Agency (in 1996) on external consultants are no longer available, due to the requirement to only retain historical financial accounts for seven years. However, external consultant figures relating to the MSA change programme, from financial year 1997–98 are provided in the table.
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 1997–98 15 
			 1998–99 16 
			 1999–2000 17 
			 2000–01 18 
			 2001–02 147 
			 2002–03 220 
			 2003–04 358.5 
			 2004–05 416.3 
		
	
	Payments during 2003–04 and 2004–05 were in respect of the medical supplies change programme, the benefit of which has been carried forward into the Medical Supplies Integrated Project Team.

Departmental Staff

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many full-time equivalents have worked for the Department for each of the last five financial years for which figures are available.

Don Touhig: The number of full-time equivalents (FTE) that have worked for the Department is shown in the following table. The numbers reflect the total number of permanent and casual staff together with the Royal Fleet Auxiliaries, trading funds and locally engaged civilians.
	
		Civilian personnel numbers at 1 April each year Thousand: FTE
		
			 Civilians(4) Total 
		
		
			 2001(5) 118.2 
			 2002 110.1 
			 2003 107.6 
			 2004 109.0 
			 2005 108.5 
		
	
	(4) This table uses the revised definition of civilian personnel (see www.dasa.mod.uk for details).
	(5) In 2001 the QinetiQ portion of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (approximately 8,000 FTE) was established as a private company.

Fijian Nationals

David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Fijian nationals are serving in Her Majesty's forces.

Adam Ingram: The following table shows the Fijian strength of UK armed forces at 1 June 2005:
	
		
			  Fijian total 
		
		
			 Naval Service 70 
			 Army 1,950 
			 RAF — 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. UK Regular Forces includes Nursing services and excludes Full Time Reserve Service personnel, Gurkhas, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised Reservists. They include both trained and untrained personnel.
	2. All data is obtained from a nationality field on the Armed Forces Personnel Record of Service. Figures represent those with a current nationality of 'Fijian'.
	3. RAF nationality data is not held centrally.
	4. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent disclosure of sensitive personal data. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Iraq

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) detainees, (b) internees and (c) other prisoners in Iraq were (i) held by UK forces, (ii) brought into UK custody and (iii) transferred from UK to US custody in each week since 1 December 2003.

Adam Ingram: Prior to December 2003, all persons taken into custody by United Kingdom forces were held by the US at Camp Bucca, in southern Iraq. During December those internees were transferred to the UK's divisional temporary detention facility (DTDF) at Shaibah logistics base in southern Iraq, and the figures given from January 2004 onwards refer to internees held at that location. However, during December, internees taken into custody by the UK may have spent a short period in Camp Bucca prior to transfer to the DTDF on or around 18 December 2003. From January 2004 to the present day, the only internees transferred to US custody were those taken during the course of the deployment of the Black Watch Battlegroup in November 2004. Two internees were transferred on 16 November 2004 and 10 were transferred on 26 November 2004. These internees are not included in the following information.
	
		
			 Date Internees held Internees taken into custody by UK 
		
		
			 As at 1 December 2003 (6)109 — 
			 Week ending:   
			 8 December 2003 (6)111 14 
			 15 December 2003 (6)110 14 
			 22 December 2003 112 2 
			 27 December 2003 140 41 
			 5 January 2004 135 11 
			 12 January 2004 126 1 
			 19 January 2004 124 2 
			 26 January 2004 109 5 
			 2 February 2004 106 15 
			 9 February 2004 l05 1 
			 16 February 2004 103 5 
			 23 February 2004 108 9 
			 1 March 2004 95 4 
			 8 March 2004 93 0 
			 15 March 2004 84 4 
			 22 March 2004 81 3 
			 29 March 2004 79 2 
			 5 April 2004 82 5 
			 13 April 2004 l02 22 
			 19 April 2004 101 0 
			 25 April 2004 98 7 
			 2 May 2004 118 27 
			 9 May 2004 117 3 
			 16 May 2004 135 23 
			 23 May 2004 125 8 
			 30 May 2004 107 5 
			 7 June 2004 79 0 
			 14 June 2004 68 14 
			 20 June 2004 73 10 
			 28 June 2004 55 1 
			 5 July 2004 40 0 
			 12 July 2004 25 0 
			 19 July 2004 25 0 
			 26 July 2004 26 3 
			 2 August 2004 21 0 
			 9 August 2004 25 4 
			 16 August 2004 25 0 
			 23 August 2004 27 2 
			 30 August 2004 25 0 
			 6 September 2004 22 1 
			 13 September 2004 26 8 
			 20 September 2004 28 2 
			 27 September 2004 14 0 
			 4 October 2004 9 0 
			 11 October 2004 10 1 
			 18 October 2004 9 0 
			 25 October 2004 9 0 
			 1 November 2004 7 0 
			 8 November 2004 7 0 
			 15 November 2004 10 3 
			 22 November 2004 10 0 
			 29 November 2004 10 0 
			 6 December 2004 18 8 
			 13 December 2004 24 8 
			 20 December 2004 24 0 
			 27 December 2004 23 0 
			 3 January 2005 23 0 
			 10 January 2005 25 2 
			 17 January 2005 31 6 
			 24 January 2005 29 0 
			 31 January 2005 30 3 
			 7 February 2005 33 3 
			 14 February 2005 31 0 
			 21 February 2005 29 0 
			 28 February 2005 27 0 
			 7 March 2005 27 0 
			 14 March 2005 27 0 
			 21 March 2005 27 0 
			 28 March 2005 24 0 
			 4 April 2005 23 0 
			 11 April 2005 23 0 
			 18 April 2005 21 0 
			 25 April 2005 21 0 
			 1 May 2005 21 0 
			 8 May 2005 21 0 
			 15 May 2005 21 0 
			 22 May 2005 22 1 
			 29 May 2005 21 0 
			 5 June 2005 21 0 
			 12 June 2005 24 3 
			 19 June 2005 24 0 
			 26 June 2005 24 0 
			 3 July 2005 24 0 
			 l0 July 2005 24 0 
		
	
	(6) In US custody.
	These figures are based on the best available data; it is evident that some theatre records contain inaccuracies.

Mothballed Defence Bases

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list his Department's bases which are mothballed.

Don Touhig: It is not the policy of the Ministry of Defence to 'mothball' sites against undefined future defence uses. The only exception would be in the case of Army Barracks, where a site might be vacant for a few months as a result of unit rotations to overseas locations. There are currently no sites in this category.
	All possible alternate defence requirements will be considered for a site before it is declared surplus. Once declared surplus a site will be disposed of as quickly as possible to ensure it is bought back into productive use at the earliest opportunity.
	Where disposal is anticipated to take some time, buildings may be wind and weatherproofed to minimise deterioration. It is also our policy, where possible, to encourage temporary commercial use of vacant sites pending disposal.

Northern Ireland

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Army personnel were stationed in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 November 2001, Official Report, columns 955–56W, to the hon. Member for New Forest, West (Mr. Swayne). The number of armed forces personnel (Army, Navy and Air Force) stationed in Northern Ireland since then is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 As at 31 October Number of troops 
		
		
			 2002 13,810 
			 2003 12,534 
			 2004 11,047 
			 2005(7) 10,154 
		
	
	(7) The figure for 2005 is taken as at 30 June.
	The General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland (GOC NI) also has under his command troops that are rear based in Great Britain that can be called forward to the Province as and when required. In addition, other troops can be made available to the GOC NI from Land Command if required, for example during the marching season.

Regimental Uniforms/Mascots

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who meets the cost of the new uniforms and mess-dress of existing personnel up to the date of changeover for the future (a) Mercia, (b) Yorkshire and (c) Scottish regiments.

Don Touhig: pursuant to the reply, 24 May 2005, Official Report, c. 56W
	I am now clarifying the information provided.
	The answer I gave stated that officers received a tax-free allowance to enable them to maintain their uniform and dress. It has now come to my attention that officers in fact receive an annual tax-credit, known as "income tax relief for maintenance of uniform", rather than an allowance as such. This means that a certain proportion of their salary is not subject to income tax. For dismounted male officers below the rank of colonel, and therefore all personnel belonging to those regiments identified in your original question, this annual rate amounts to £589.29 of earnings against which income tax is not paid.

Life Expectancy Rates

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the life expectancy rates for each year between (a) 1980 to 1985, (b) 1990 to 1995 and (c) 1999 to 2004 were for (i) males and (ii) females for (A) Scotland, (B) England, (C) Wales, (D) Northern Ireland and (E) the UK.

John Healey: The following table gives past and projected period expectations of life at birth for males and females in the UK and each of the constituent countries for the years 1980 to 1985, 1990 to 1995 and 1999 to 2004 inclusive.
	The period expectation of life figures shown are based on the mortality rates experienced or projected by age and gender for the years stated and are the number of years people would be expected to live from birth if they experienced those mortality rates throughout their remaining lifetimes.
	
		Period life expectancy at birth by country and selected year Years
		
			  Scotland England Wales Northern Ireland United Kingdom 
		
		
			 Males  
			 1980 69.0 70.8 70.0 68.3 70.5 
			 1981 69.1 71.1 70.5 69.3 70.9 
			 1982 69.3 71.3 70.8 70.0 71.1 
			 1983 69.7 71.6 70.8 70.0 71.3 
			 1984 69.9 72.0 71.6 70.5 71.7 
			 1985 70.1 71.9 71.2 70.6 71.7 
			 1990 71.1 73.1 72.8 72.2 72.9 
			 1991 71.4 73.3 73.1 72.5 73.1 
			 1992 71.6 73.8 73.5 73.0 73.5 
			 1993 71.4 73.7 73.1 72.7 73.5 
			 1994 72.1 74.3 73.6 73.3 74.0 
			 1995 72.1 74.2 73.5 73.3 74.0 
			 1999 72.7 75.2 74.3 74.2 74.9 
			 2000 73.2 75.7 75.1 74.9 75.4 
			 2001 73.4 76.1 75.4 75.3 75.8 
			 2002 73.4 76.2 75.8 75.5 75.9 
			 2003 73.8 76.4 75.5 76.0 76.1 
			 2004(9) 74.2 76.8 76.0 76.1 76.5 
			   
			 Females  
			 1980 75.2 76.8 76.2 75.0 76.6 
			 1981 75.4 77.1 76.4 75.9 76.9 
			 1982 75.3 77.2 76.6 75.7 77.0 
			 1983 75.7 77.5 76.8 76.4 77.2 
			 1984 75.9 77.8 77.5 76.9 77.6 
			 1985 75.8 77.6 77.2 76.8 77.4 
			 1990 76.9 78.7 78.7 77.9 78.5 
			 1991 77.1 78.8 78.8 78.4 78.6 
			 1992 77.3 79.2 78.9 78.9 79.0 
			 1993 77.0 79.0 78.7 78.4 78.8 
			 1994 77.7 79.5 79.2 78.8 79.3 
			 1995 77.7 79.4 78.9 78.8 79.2 
			 1999 78.2 80.0 79.4 79.2 79.8 
			 2000 78.6 80.4 80.0 79.8 80.2 
			 2001 78.8 80.7 80.1 80.3 80.5 
			 2002 78.9 80.8 80.2 80.3 80.6 
			 2003 78.9 80.7 80.2 80.6 80.5 
			 2004(9) 79.3 81.1 80.6 80.6 80.9 
		
	
	(9) Figures for years up to and including 2003 are based on actual data; figures for 2004 are based on projected data.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit interim payments were sent out in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06 to date; what their total value was in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many emergency payments have been made by the Inland Revenue tax credits administration in each year since 2000; what the total value was of those emergency payments; and whether the payments were made by (i) cheque, (ii) direct payment and (iii) cash.

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what value of giro cheque payments made to tax credit claimants were not made via the tax credit computer in each month in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) April to June 2005.

Dawn Primarolo: For interim payments made in 2003–04 I refer the hon. Members to page 125 of the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General 2003–04, which can be found in the Board's Annual Report at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pdfs/report2004.pdf.
	A breakdown of the interim payments made in 2004–05 and 2005–06 could be made available only at disproportionate cost.
	Emergency payments are made by girocheque either in person at a HMRC Enquiry Centre or by post to the taxpayer.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Customs and Revenue staff were employed in dealing with tax credit (a) over-payments, (b) appeals and (c) complaints in each quarter from Q1 2002 to Q2 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Quarterly information for the period concerned is not available.
	In respect of (a) , I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer of 7 July 2005, Official Report, column 623W, to the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Osborne). For (c), I refer to the answer I gave the hon. Gentlemen on 6 July 2005, Official Report, columns 436–7W. On (b), the full-time equivalent of around 160 staff were working on tax credit appeals at 28 May 2005.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the take-up rate of working tax credit;
	(2)  what proportion of working families with children are receiving tax credits; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him of 4 July 2005, Official Report, column 95W. Please note, however, that the figure for the average number of families benefiting from child and working tax credits in 2003–04 given in that answer should have been 5.7 million and not 5.5 million.

Tax Returns

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he has taken to encourage individuals to file their self assessment tax returns on time; and how much has been spent on such measures in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC (Inland Revenue to April 2005) has taken a number of steps to encourage individuals to file their self-assessment tax returns on time, including:
	extensive media campaigns, involving TV, radio, billboards, railway/tube and newspaper advertisements;
	advertising campaigns designed to promote e-filing;
	increased press advertising in January, specifically aimed at the construction industry and self-employed;
	national pro-active telephony campaign to remind those at highest risk of filing late about the deadline and pointing them towards help;
	issuing reminder "inserts" with Class 2 NIC quarterly bills (October and January);
	raising awareness among agents with publicity in the Department's Tax Bulletin publication;
	using the Department's network of local radio broadcasters to promote the deadline message;
	local newspaper press releases to advertise inquiry centre opening times around the filing deadline;
	front-line staff reminding people about the deadline in day-to-day contact with customers.
	On the cost of the measures for the years 2000 to 2004, I refer the hon. Member back to the answers given to him on 19 November 2003, Official Report, column 1093W, and to the hon. Member for West Dorset on 5 January 2004.
	The figure for media costs for self-assessment for 2004–05 was £7.5 million, inclusive of VAT.

Policy Costings

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what costings of (a) Liberal Democrat and (b) Conservative party policies his Department has (i) undertaken, (ii) co-ordinated in the previous 12 months and (iii) advised upon in the previous 12 months.

Des Browne: I refer to the hon. Member to HM Treasury's website: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/information/foi_disclosures/foi_disclosures_index.cfm

Lighting

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what percentage of (a) external and (b) internal lights within the House estate are (i) movement-activated and (ii) activated by a particular degree of darkness;

Nick Harvey: Around 10 per cent. of the internal areas in the House of Commons parts of the Palace of Westminster, the Norman Shaw buildings, 1 Canon Row, and 7 Millbank have movement-activated lights. In Portcullis House, 1 Parliament Street and 1 Derby Gate there are sophisticated time switch controls. External lights generally are on seasonally adjusted time switch control.

Arms Exports/Trade

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of UK exports of goods and services was made up from sales of arms in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion was made up of sales of arms to developing countries.

Alun Michael: Information on the proportion of UK exports accounted for by arms is given in the following table:
	
		UK exports of arms as a percentage of total exports of goods and services 1995 to 2004
		
			  UK exports of goods and services Total UK exports of arms including aerospace equipment UK exports of arms developing countries(10) excluding aerospace equipment 
		
		
			 1995 100.0 2.3 n/a 
			 1996 100.0 2.8 n/a 
			 1997 100.0 2.9 0.9 
			 1998 100.0 2.6 0.4 
			 1999 100.0 1.8 0.2 
			 2000 100.0 1.7 0.2 
			 2001 100.0 1.5 0.1 
			 2002 100.0 1.5 0.1 
			 2003 100.0 1.6 0.2 
			 2004 100.0 n/a 0.2 
		
	
	n/a = Not available.
	(10) OECD definition of developing countries
	Source:
	National Statistics, Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics Ministry of Defence, DASA

Arms Exports/Trade

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) reports and (b) representations (i) he and (ii) his officials have received concerning the possible involvement of UK-based companies in the transportation of arms and ammunition from the Balkans and Eastern Europe to the Great Lakes region of Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: I am aware of Amnesty International's recent report "Democratic Republic of Congo: Arming the East". The incidents described therein were first raised by Amnesty International in 2003, and were investigated by HM Revenue and Customs. Any new evidence of breaches of export controls would be a matter for them to pursue as appropriate.

Carbon Sequestration

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the potential for carbon sequestration in the Scottish sector of the North sea as defined by the Civil Jurisdiction (Offshore Activities) Order 1987.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 11 July 2005
	No assessment has yet been made on the potential for carbon storage in the Scottish sector of the North sea although the British Geological Survey's estimate of storage in the UK sector as a whole is 755 Giga tonnes CO 2 . More information can be found in the DTI's report "Review of the Feasibility of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage in the UK", published in September 2003 and available on the DTI website at
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/coal/cfft/co2capture/review.pdf.

Crude Oil Production

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate the Department has made of when global production of conventional crude oil will peak.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government's assessment of the remaining lifespan of global oil reserves is set out in the Energy White Paper 2003 "Our energy future—creating a low carbon economy" (http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/whitepaper/index.shtml). Paragraph 6.15 of the White Paper notes that
	"Globally, conventional oil reserves are sufficient to meet projected demand for around 30 years, although new discoveries will be needed to renew reserves. Together with non-conventional reserves such as oil shales and improvements in technology, there is the potential for oil reserves to last twice as long".
	This is consistent with the latest assessment by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its 2004 World Energy Outlook. The IEA concludes that
	". . . global production of conventional oil will not peak before 2030 if the necessary investments are made."
	The Government remain committed to working with producers, consumers and the international community to improve the conditions for investment in the international oil sector, as well as implementing policies to maximise the economic recovery of the UK's own oil (and gas) reserves and to ease the UK economy away from power supplied primarily through fossil fuel supply. We are also supporting efforts to promote greater transparency in reporting of global oil reserves.

Hiatt Handcuffs

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether Hiatt handcuffs have any current export licences for oversize handcuffs to (a) the US and (b) elsewhere.

Malcolm Wicks: This is commercially confidential information and as such is exempt from disclosure. Summary information on the goods licensed to each destination is however published in the Government's Annual and Quarterly Reports on Strategic Export Controls which are available from the Libraries of the House and the Export Control Organisation website www.dti.gov.uk/export.control respectively. The goods summary in question is "handcuffs".
	Particular scrutiny is given to every application to export oversized handcuffs to assess the risk of there being use as leg irons.

Hydro Power

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the economic viability of microgeneration using converted water mills.

Malcolm Wicks: The economic viability of converted water mills acting as microgenerators depends on many different factors—the cost of the conversion, the generating capacity of the installation, the actual output of the generating station, agreement with the relevant distribution network operator on tariff for any electricity exported, etc.
	My Department has recently put out a tender for some research to look at the costs and benefits of all forms of micro generation including micro-hydro. This study will feed into work on the Government's strategy for the promotion of microgeneration which will be published next year.

MG Rover

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his Department's discussions with (a) MG Rover management executives and (b) representatives of the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation in the month of (i) January, (ii) February, (iii) March, (iv) April and (v) May.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 4 July 2005
	Clearly the period between January and April was one where important decisions were being taken by MG Rover's management and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). Consequently DTI Ministers and officials had a number of discussions with MG Rover management and SAIC although I can confirm the Department has had no discussions with either during May.

Miners' Compensation

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid by his Department in fees to each firm of solicitors dealing with coal mining industrial injury compensation under the British Coal Claims Handling Agreement; how many (a) claims have been made and (b) cases have been settled by each firm; and how much has been paid out in compensation through each firm.

Malcolm Wicks: A table containing the requested information entitled "Claim receipts, settlements, damages and costs paid (COPD/VWF) by solicitor" has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Patent Act

Eric Forth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the commencement date is for the part of the Patent Act 2004 relating to post-grant amendments.

Alan Johnson: The part of the Patents Act 2004 relating to post-grant amendment is one of several provisions which will bring UK patents legislation into line with the revised European Patent Convention ("EPC"). All such provisions will be brought into force at the same time as the revised EPC itself comes into force, which is desirable in order to maintain consistency between the UK and European patents systems. It is uncertain exactly when this will be, because the revised EPC takes effect 2 years after the 15th state has ratified or acceded, or (if earlier) three months after the final state has ratified or acceded. At present I understand that 14 states have done so, and therefore that the revised EPC, and the corresponding provisions in the 2004 Act, are very unlikely to take effect until mid-2007 at the earliest.

Refurbishment Costs

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost was of refurbishing 1 Victoria Street; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: The refurbishment of 1 Victoria Street is a key part of the Department's two roof programme to rationalise its central London estate and will allow the Department to reduce its accommodation by approximately 30 per cent. The cost of the recently completed phase 1 of the programme covering the majority of the building is approximately £12 million and has resulted in the release of accommodation in four other London buildings which will generate long term savings of £7.7million annually.

Renewable Energy

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what consultation preceded the decision to allow large hydro generators to downrate their plant below 20 MW to qualify for accreditation for renewables obligations certificates where turbine refurbishment had taken place; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether the decision on allowing new or refurbished hydro plant below 20MW to qualify for renewables obligations certificates was made (a) before and (b) after the end of the public consultation.

Malcolm Wicks: The decision to allow all new and refurbished hydro plant under 20 MW to be eligible for renewables obligation certificates (ROCS) was made after the Renewables Obligation Preliminary Consultation, published October 2000 and was included within paragraph 2.17 of the Renewables Obligation Statutory Consultation, published August 2001 as:
	"The majority of responses to the preliminary consultation supported the exclusion of large scale hydro stations, which were constructed under public ownership. However, concern was expressed by the industry over the age of current stations and the need to refurbish them, and there has also been concern that some potential new developments could not proceed without support. We therefore propose to exclude existing stations with a declared net capacity (DNC) of over 20MW from the Obligation, but to include any station first commissioned after the date of the Order is made, regardless of capacity. We believe that these measures will encourage the refurbishment of existing stations of up to 20MW and will support any future scheme if planning permission can be secured".

Renewable Energy

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will commission research on the transmission charging regime for generators in Scotland to identify barriers to the development and implementation of renewable and carbon capture and abatement technologies in Scotland.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 7 July 2005
	Responsibility for approving a transmission charging methodology rests with the independent regulator, Ofgem. Ofgem approved National Grid Company's proposed methodology in February 2005, following extensive consultation with the industry, and a consideration of the environmental impacts of the proposals. The Department commissioned independent consultants to investigate the impact of transmission charges on renewable generation in Scotland. Their report will be published later this summer, alongside the Government's proposals for adjusting transmission charges for renewable generators in a specified area of the North of Scotland.

Stallion Military Vehicles

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the export of Stallion (4x4), Mark 3 and Mark 4, military vehicles manufactured by Ashok Leyland requires a licence; whether they are classified as category ML6A; and whether Ashok Leyland has ever applied for a rating for these vehicles from the technical assessment unit at the Export Control Organisation.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 14 July 2005
	From the information available on the company website, it appears these vehicles are specially designed for military use and therefore potentially require an export or trade licence under ML6a of the UK's Military Control list. An export licence would only be required if the goods were exported from the UK, and a trade licence would only be required for the transfer of the goods between third countries if there were some UK involvement, as defined in the relevant legislation. An actual rating and licensing decision will be made on a case by case basis.
	It is not our practice to comment on inquiries to ECO by exporters as this is commercial confidential.

Two Roof Strategy

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his Department's two roof strategy.

Alan Johnson: The two roof programme is a ground breaking change programme to rationalise our central London estate and transform the way we use our workspace. This core element of the DTI's Efficiency Programme offers a new and radical approach to workspace utilisation and will allow the Department to reduce its accommodation by approximately 30 per cent. Starting in 1 Victoria Street, the accommodation is being remodelled as part of a wider change programme to support team based desking in a flexible, open plan working environment on the basis of providing on average eight desks for every 10 people to be accommodated. This has enabled us to increase the capacity of our main HQ building from 1,680 under the original, traditional approach to approximately 2,400 now and to release other buildings on the estate for reuse or disposal. This highly successful change programme will now be applied to the rest of our London accommodation.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what definition of electrical waste he uses in relation to implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government expect to implement the definition of WEEE used in the Directive;
	"'WEEE' means electrical or electronic equipment (EEE) which is waste within the meaning of Article 1(a) of Directive 75/442/EEC, including all components, subassemblies and consumables which are part of the product at the time of discarding".
	The Directive states that
	"'EEE' means equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly and equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields falling under the categories set out in Annex 1A (of the Directive) and designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1,000 Volt for alternating current and 1,500 Volt for direct current".
	The scope of EEE covered by the Regulations implementing the WEEE Directive will be as set out in Annex 1B of the Directive.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  whether retailers will be required to (a) maintain a register of all electronic and electrical items returned to their store and (b) insist on the consumer producing the old good before selling a new electrical or electronic product under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive;
	(2)  at what quantity retailers most dispose of their store of returned goods under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive; and whether this will involve the retailer (a) paying for the goods to be collected by a registered disposal firm and (b) depositing the goods at a registered collection point;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the costs to retailers of complying with the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive;
	(4)  whether his Department has carried out a small business regulatory impact assessment on the proposals for Environment Agency fees relating to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive;
	(5)  what discussions the Department has had with companies retailing electrical and electronic equipment on reducing waste arising from such equipment.

Malcolm Wicks: The WEEE Directive requires that retailers provide free take-back of WEEE they collect in-store. The Government are developing its implementation planning for the Directive in order to offer retailers several options for how they can take back the household WEEE they collect.
	The Government obtained flexibility for UK retailers to discharge their obligations under the WEEE Directive. Retailers will have a choice to comply either by (i) offering take-back services in-store to consumers; or (ii) by showing membership of an approved compliance scheme which will support an alternative national network of facilities for separate collection of household WEEE. This flexibility enables retailers to provide alternatives to the in-store take back provision set out in the Directive. In addition, the Government announced in March this year that it would delay implementation of the Directive to January 2006. The course the Government have taken will provide cost savings to retailers compared to the estimates from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) of £200-£500 million per annum for in-store take back. Ultimately the costs to retailers will depend on the retailer's choice of compliance and the volume of WEEE returned to them. The Government are proposing to implement the WEEE Directive with as little disruption as possible to current retailer practices, while achieving the environmental aims of the Directive.
	The Government have had extensive discussions with many retailers on implementation of the Directive. It has encouraged the BRC to develop proposals for a retail compliance scheme to provide a national collection network, including funding upgrades to civic amenity sites' facilities for separate collection of WEEE. The BRC has proposed a fund for a retail compliance scheme of some £8.2 million over the three years to 2008 to upgrade all civic amenity sites in the UK, including funds to maintain the infrastructure over the same period.
	Where retailers choose to comply with their obligation by offering in-store take back services, they will be expected to do this on a "one-to-one" basis, as the Directive requires. This means when selling new equipment they will have to take back equipment of a similar type or fulfilling an equivalent function as the new equipment being supplied.
	It is not expected that there will be a requirement on retailers to register all items of WEEE collected in this way; or that retailers would have to store WEEE only up to a certain, stipulated quantity.
	Retailers choosing to provide in-store take-back services would be expected to store WEEE they collect according to the requirements of the Directive to optimise its potential re-use or recycling and recovery. This should include providing for any necessary storage on hard standing and weather-proofing, as required by the Directive.
	The Government published a Regulatory Impact Assessment with its consultation paper of 24 May 2005 on proposed Environment Agency fees related to the WEEE Directive. This is available at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/sustainability/weee/WEEE_fees_RIA.pdf

Wind Farm (Redcar)

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  who will make the final decision on the proposed development of an offshore wind farm at Redcar; what criteria will be used to make the decision; and what procedures will be followed;
	(2)  what account will be taken of objections registered to the proposed offshore wind farm at Redcar in the process of a decision being reached on whether to permit the proposed development;
	(3)  what opportunities the objectors to the proposed wind farm at Redcar will have to make representations to the authority responsible for deciding whether to proceed with the project prior to the decision being taken;
	(4)  whether the proposal to build an offshore wind farm at Redcar will be subject to a (a) public inquiry and (b) other public hearing.

Malcolm Wicks: The wind farm off Redcar will require a suite of statutory consents before it can be built, principally under the Electricity Act 1989, the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 and the Coast Protection Act 1949. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry will take decisions in respect of the consent application made under the Electricity Act: my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will take the decisions about consent applications made under the Food and Environment Protection Act and the Coast Protection Act.
	Both my right hon. Friend the Secretaries of State will consider carefully all the representations that have been submitted in respect of the application and they will also take into account national policy considerations, including the target to generate 10 per cent. of electricity by renewable sources in 2010.
	No decisions have yet been taken in respect of the determination of the consent applications. The options under the Electricity Act will be to accept the application, to reject it or to call a public inquiry to consider the issues further.

Former Soviet Union

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on progress by G8 countries in assisting with the destruction of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in former USSR countries.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	The hon. Member can find a full report on the G8's Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction and its practical efforts to reduce the risks of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including progress on the various projects to date at the G8 website. This report can be found at
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/ PostG8_Gleneagles_GPWGAnnualReport2005.pdf
	and the annex with project data at
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/ PostG8_Gleneagles_GPWGAnnualReportAnnex2005.pdf.
	The UK's second annual report on its progress under the Global Partnership is available at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/nuclear/fsu/news/Second_ annual_report.pdf.

Infant Mortality

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the top five causes of infant mortality in the third world in the last five years for which figures are available; how many infants died from each cause a year on average in that period; and what estimate he has made of the average cost of treating one infant affected by each such cause.

Gareth Thomas: Specific data on infant mortality (first year of life) are unreliable given the lack of effective vital statistics systems. Data collection is further compromised by the fact that about half of the women in developing countries deliver at home, without links to the health system. However, data is much more robust on deaths of children under 5 years.
	Each year, 11 million children under 5 years die of acute respiratory infections (19 per cent.); diarrhoea (18 per cent.); malaria (8 per cent.) measles (4 per cent.). However, 40 per cent. of all deaths in children under 5 years occur within the first 28 days.
	Three quarters of these, 4 million neonatal deaths, occur within the first week of life. Three main causes are severe infections (26 per cent.) (including sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis); premature births (28 per cent.) and birth asphyxia (23 per cent.).
	"Making every mother and child count" (The World Health Organisation 2005), provides costs for the provision of skilled attendants, support with the instruction of breastfeeding, vaccinations, combating diarrhoea, pneumonia, sepsis and malaria, as well as prevention and care for HIV. The report identifies a set of costings with differing assumptions and scenarios for the 75 countries that together account for almost 95 per cent. of global child deaths (refer to www.who.int/whr). The costing of saving a child's life differs by country and there is no global figure available.
	Underlying causes of these child deaths include poverty, with malnutrition and lack of clean water accounting for at least half of the mortality. Weak health systems that cannot ensure access to reproductive health services, including skilled attendants at birth, impact on child health outcomes—we know that babies born to mothers who die in childbirth are unlikely to survive their first year. Poor health and nutrition of adolescent girls has significant long-term effects on their health and the survival of their newborns.

BBC Broadcast/Trust

Frank Doran: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria she will apply in determining whether to approve the sale of BBC Broadcast to Creative Broadcast Services.

James Purnell: holding answer 12 July 2005
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's assessment will be limited largely to determining whether the BBC has followed the appropriate process in reaching its decision to sell BBC Broadcast, and in applying for ministerial approval.

Licensing Act

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she intends to lay the statutory instrument for the nomination of the second appointed day under the Licensing Act 2003 before Parliament.

James Purnell: We intend to lay the Order setting the second appointed day, following our recent commitment that this date will be 24 November, very soon.

Licensing Act

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her latest assessment is of the impact on the viability of village halls of the introduction of the new licensing regime.

James Purnell: The reform of the licensing regime will benefit village halls in the long-term by removing the need to apply for several licences and permissions. This will allow them to offer a wide range of activities to local communities under a single licence. Costs and bureaucracy will also be reduced—not least, because village halls will only incur licence fees where events include the sale of alcohol. The vast majority of village halls will pay no more than £190 on initial application, and £180 as an annual fee.
	I met representatives of Action with Communities in Rural England on 12 July to discuss the concerns of village halls. My Department will shortly issue a public consultation document on the limit for temporary event notices allowed per year, and I fully expect the Independent Fees Review Panel to consider the concerns of village halls in detail.

Listed Buildings/Sites

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) buildings, (b) sites and (c) parks in Chorley are listed; and if she will list those assessed as requiring (i) restoration and (ii) conservation.

David Lammy: There are 54 list entries relating to listed buildings in Chorley, 11 scheduled ancient monuments, and five registered parks and gardens. Each list entry may relate to more than one building.
	The following four listed buildings in Chorley appear on the Buildings at Risk Register:
	Buckshaw Hall, off Euxton Lane, Euxton, Chorley
	Bank Hall, Liverpool Road, Bretherton, Chorley
	Lower Burgh Hall, Coppull New Road, Chorley
	Great Barn West of Hoghton Tower, Chorley

Olympics 2012

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she plans to take to minimise the carbon footprint of the 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: Achieving a sustainable games was a strong element of London's bid for the 2012 Olympics. A key part of London 2012's plans, as set out in Theme 5 of their Candidate File, was for a "low carbon" games.
	Venues will be designed to optimise energy efficiency and to make use of low carbon and renewable energy sources. All spectators will travel to the games by public transport, or by cycling or walking. The vehicles for the Olympic family will comply with strict low-emission standards.
	There will also be a comprehensive carbon-offset programme to "neutralise" all the unavoidable carbon emissions caused by overseas participants travelling to the games in 2012, as well as the organisation's own staff travel during the preparation phase, by supporting the installation of renewable energy projects in developing countries.

Departmental Advertising

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Department spent on advertising in each of the last five years.

Jack Straw: Our records show that advertising costs in the last five financial years are as follows.
	
		
			 £ 
			  Recruitment advertising Diversity advertising Other Total 
		
		
			 2001–02 803,745.38 203,050 13,794.52 1,020,589.90 
			 2002–03 587,936.18 183,109 39,786 810,831.18 
			 2003–04 391,674.91 156,844 62,460.37 610,979.28 
			 2004–05 226,458.35 227,095 24,331.63 477,884.98 
			 2005–06 (to date) 112,106 91,915 Nil 204,021 
		
	
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's overseas posts and its non-departmental public bodies (NDPB) also incur costs. Collating this information would involve contacting each individual overseas posts and individual sponsoring departments of NDPBs. Sponsoring departments would then have to contact each NDPB for details. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Equatorial Guinea

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the most recent elections held in Equatorial Guinea.

Ian Pearson: The most recent elections in Equatorial Guinea were the municipal and legislative elections in April 2004. An EU statement was made following these, which the UK supported. This document can be found at http://europa.eu int/abc/doc/off/bull/en/200406/pl06022.htm.

Israel

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the government of Israel for the release from house arrest of Mordechai Vanunu.

Kim Howells: My right hon. and noble Friend the former Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean) raised our concerns with the Israeli Chargé d'Affaires following Mr. Vanunu's release in April 2004, as did our ambassador in Tel Aviv with the Israeli Government. We have since raised the issue with the Israeli Government on numerous occasions
	We are aware that Mr. Vanunu was indicted on 17 March for violating the terms of his release from prison and that this has resulted in a further year's extension of the restrictions previously imposed on him. We recognise that Israel has a right to protect its national interest but we are concerned that the restrictions may be excessive and punitive. Our embassy in Tel Aviv will continue to monitor his case closely.

Middle East

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he expects that aid promised by the G8 summit to the Palestinian Authority will be received by (a) Hamas-led administrations and (b) Hamas mayors, with particular reference to the Hamas mayors in (i) Kalkiya, (ii) Hebron, (iii) Bethlehem, (iv) Rafah and (v) Beit Lahia.

Kim Howells: The G8 summit announced support for the quartet-appointed (UN, US, EU and Russia) special envoy for disengagement James Wolfensohn's intention to stimulate a global financial contribution of up to $3 billion per year over the next three years. Mr. Wolfensohn has indicated that the aid would be spent on a range of infrastructure and job creation schemes in the Gaza strip and northern west bank, to help revitalise the Palestinian economy following the Israeli withdrawal from those areas. The details of how this aid would be distributed have not been finalised. There are no plans for the aid to go directly to Hamas-governed municipalities.
	The Mayor of Bethelehem represents the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
	The Mayors of Rafah, Beit Lahia and Hebron represent the Fatah party.

Turkey

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Turkey regarding the article in the Turkish Penal Code which criminalises any mention of the Armenian genocide.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the then Minister for Europe (Mr. MacShane) to my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) on 16 November 2004, Official Report, columns 1340–41W. The answer makes clear that it is the non-binding guidance to Article 305 of the Turkish Penal Code and not the code itself that advises that when receiving material benefits from a foreign individual or organisation
	"a citizen who declares that the Armenian genocide took place during the First World War, can be pursued by virtue of this article."
	The European Commission has made it clear to Turkey that they expect the language not to be taken into consideration when interpreting Article 305.
	Our embassy in Ankara discussed the Penal Code, including this guidance to Article 305, with the Turkish Parliament ahead of its entry into force on 1 June 2005, and continue to work with the European Commission to ensure that Turkey meets its international legal obligations, including those concerning freedom of expression under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.

Assets Recovery Agency

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total monetary value of property and processions confiscated by the Asset Recovery Agency has been in each year since the agency was created.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is set out in the following table:
	
		
			£ million 
			  Assets frozen Assets recovered Receipts 
		
		
			 2003–04
			 England and Wales 17.9 None 0.002 
			 Northern Ireland 3.1 First full year of operation — 
			 Total 21 — 0.002 
			 
			 2004–05
			 England and Wales 13.1 4.1 3. 9 
			 Northern Ireland 3.7 1.4 0.7 
			 Total 16.8 5.5 4.6

Electoral Register

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been removed from the electoral register in error in each year since 2001; and what investigation took place in each case.

David Hanson: This issue is an operational matter and is the responsibility of the Chief Electoral Officer who has written to the hon. Gentleman in the following terms:
	"Such errors are rare. Electoral Office records show that electors wrongly removed from the register in each year were as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001 0 
			 2002 0 
			 2003 1 
			 2004 0 
			 2005 (16)3 
		
	
	(16) To date
	Where such an error occurred, the electors concerned were immediately re-instated on the register and the staff involved given further training to ensure that they understood how the mistake they had made took place. Procedures were also amended to make human error less likely. Letters of apology were also sent to the electors concerned, either directly or via their political representative where the matter was raised in that way".

Grants

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been allocated out of the (a) Children's Fund, (b) Innovation/Modernisation Executive Programme Fund, (c) Infrastructure Executive Programme Fund, (d) New Directions Executive Programme Fund, (e) Service Modernisation Executive Programme Fund and (f) Social Inclusion/Community Regeneration Executive Programme Fund to projects and programmes in North Belfast in each year since 2001.

Angela Smith: In excess of 300 projects and programmes, covering a wide range of geographical areas and activities, have been funded through Executive Programme Funds. Information regarding what element of funding allocated to these programmes or projects since 2001 relates to North Belfast could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Inward Investment

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what levels of inward investment have been made in each Northern Ireland constituency in the last five years.

Angela Smith: The following table shows inward investment supported by Invest Northern Ireland and its predecessor The Industrial Development Board in each of the last five years.
	
		Invest NI inward investment by parliamentary constituency 2000–01 to 2004–05
		
			  Total investment (£) 
			 Parliamentary constituency 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 Grand total 
		
		
			 Belfast East 1,100,000 22,743,000 0 34,288,613 10,614,872 68,746,485 
			 Belfast North 21,897,000 15,588,363 0 13,500,000 459,852 51,445,215 
			 Belfast South 18,233,691 834,000 4,047,000 41,323,651 24,831,214 89,269,556 
			 Belfast West 2,691,000 23,947,000 2,958,000 9,719,973 21,350,000 60,665,973 
			 East Antrim 164,394,000 6,922,000 5,387,000 903,000 7,979,000 185,585,000 
			 East Londonderry 34,011,000 0 0 1,131,070 10,000 35,152,070 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 693,500 12,444,640 7,884,615 3,943,360 3,799,500 28,765,615 
			 Foyle 9,280,000 13,535,636 92,048,000 11,689,944 37,100,000 163,653,580 
			 Lagan Valley 0 2,446,600 0 0 1,051,000 3,497,600 
			 Mid Ulster 0 0 1,391,650 10,226 22,596,846 23,998,722 
			 Newry and Armagh 5,000,000 0 914,028 0 0 5,914,028 
			 North Antrim 2,506,000 10,000,000 0.0 14,441,000 6,500,000 33,447,000 
			 North Down 0 263,000 1,575,000 1,185,000 5,332,000 8,355,000 
			 South Antrim 0 66,345,000 505,000 26,155 14,339,760 81,215,915 
			 South Down 0 11,794,659 0 0 0 11,794,659 
			 Strangford 2,078,000 571,000 2,826,378 9,750 62,500 5,547,628 
			 Upper Bann 1,529,200 16,273,760 37,854,122 12,832,757 35,978,370 104,468,209 
			 West Tyrone 1,263,000 27,676,300 9,334,000 4,381,545 4,442,500 47,097,345 
			 Yet to be determined 0 0 0 0 14,370,000 14,370,000 
			 Grand total 264,676,391 231,384,958 166,724,793 149,386,044 210,817,414 1,022,989,600 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. 2004–05 figures are provisional and may be subject to change.
	2. Projects in the 'Yet To Be Determined' category have not yet agreed upon a final location.
	3. 2000–01 and 2001–02 relate to IDB, 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05 relate to Invest NI

Junior Doctors

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide funding to assist junior doctors with unavoidable expenses they incur through their training.

Shaun Woodward: Funding is provided by the employer to assist junior doctors with travelling, subsistence and in some instances removal expenses throughout their training. Expenses that may be payable are set out in the "Terms and Conditions Handbook for Hospital Medication and Dental Staff and Doctors in Public Health Medicine and Community Health Service".

Smoking

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been allocated for nicotine replacement therapies in the last three years in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety does not allocate resources exclusively for nicotine replacement therapies (NRT). However, since 1999, the Department has made additional resources available to health and social services boards for the development of smoking cessation services across Northern Ireland. The amounts allocated for the last three financial years are as follows:
	
		
			  Amount allocated (£) 
		
		
			 2003–04 600,000 
			 2004–05 600,000 
			 2005–06 760,000 
		
	
	NRT products are available either as "over the counter" medicines or on prescription and may form part of the smoking cessation service offered to clients. Details of NRT prescription costs over the last three years for which figures are available are set out as follows.
	
		
			  Prescription costs (£ million) 
		
		
			 2002 1.9 
			 2003 2.1 
			 2004 2.4

Smoking

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the prevalence of smoking has been among teenagers in Northern Ireland over the past two decades, broken down by gender.

Shaun Woodward: The Continuous Household Survey provides the estimated prevalence of smoking among the population in Northern Ireland aged 16 and over. The following table shows the smoking prevalence for teenagers aged 16–19 from 1983 to 2002–03. Since 1986 questions on smoking have been asked biennially on the Continuous Household Survey.
	
		Prevalence of cigarette smoking among teenagers aged 16–19 in Northern Ireland, 1983 to 2002–03 Percentage
		
			  Cigarette smokers 
			  All Males Females 
		
		
			 1983 25 31 19 
			 1984 22 27 17 
			 1986 31 33 30 
			 1988 23 25 20 
			 1990–91 26 24 27 
			 1992–93 24 24 24 
			 1994–95 24 20 27 
			 1996–97 23 23 23 
			 1998–99 20 15 24 
			 2000–01 26 23 27 
			 2002–03 31 33 28 
		
	
	Source:
	Continuous Household Survey 1983 to 2002–03.

Adoption

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were placed for adoption in each year since 1983, broken down by age; how many of these children were placed for adoption while in local authority care; and how many were placed without parental consent.

Maria Eagle: The following table shows the number of looked after children placed for adoption since 1994, the earliest year for which information is available. Information is not collected centrally on the number of looked after children that were placed for adoption without parental consent.
	
		Children looked after who were placed for adoption at 31 March by age. 1994 to 2004(17)(18): England Numbers
		
			  Placed for adoption 
			  1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 
		
		
			 All children(18) 2,200 2,200 2,200 2,400 2,400 2,900 
			 Under 1 180 160 140 110 180 160 
			 1–4 780 850 970 1,200 1,200 1,600 
			 5–9 850 830 780 820 810 930 
			 10–15 360 330 320 300 190 170 
			 16 and over 20 10 20 10 10 20 
		
	
	
		
			  Placed for adoption 
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 All children(18) 3,100 3,400 3,600 3,400 3,300 
			 Under 1 280 210 280 220 220 
			 1–4 1,600 1,800 1,800 1,700 1,600 
			 5–9 1,100 1,200 1,200 1,300 1,200 
			 10–15 200 220 230 240 190 
			 16 and over 10 10 10 10 10 
		
	
	(17) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements.
	(18) Figures over 1,000 have been rounded to the nearest 100. All other figures have been rounded to the nearest10.
	Source:
	DfES

Education Funding

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money her Department granted to Swindon local education authority in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02, (c) 2002–03, (d) 2003–04 and (e) 2004–05.

Jacqui Smith: The figures requested are expressed in cash terms and set out as follows:
	
		Swindon £ million
		
			  Recurrent funding(20) Capital funding 
		
		
			 2000–01 84.1 6.1 
			 2001–02 89.8 4.3 
			 2002–03 94.6 15.2 
			 2003–04 105.1 (21)80.2 
			 2004–05 110.7 11.6 
		
	
	(20) Recurrent funding
	Price Base: Cash
	Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of education SSA/EFS settlements. The 2003–04 to 2004–05 figures include the pensions transfer to EPS and LSC, the 2000–01 to 2002–03 figures have not been adjusted.
	Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DFES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged three to 19 and exclude EMAs and grants not allocated at LEA level.
	Where responsibility for funding a school has transferred from an LEA, related funding no longer appears in the series.
	Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest 0.1 million.
	Status: 2003–04 and 2004–05 figures are provisional as some grants have not yet been finalised/audited.
	(21) Includes £62.8 million allocation for PFI scheme

Education Spending

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the spending per (a) primary and (b) high school pupil in Lancashire is for 2005–06.

Jacqui Smith: In 2005–06, the total revenue funding per pupil made available in Lancashire, through formula funding and specific grant, to support pupils aged 3–10 was £3,640 and £4,450 per pupil aged 11–15.
	Notes:
	1. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of education EPS settlements and include the pensions transfer to EPS. 2. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged 3–10 and 11–15 and exclude Education Maintenance Allowances and grants not allocated at LEA level. 3. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to per pupil are those underlying the EPS settlement calculations. 4. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Employer Training Pilots

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average length of time employees spent away from the workplace completing NVQ Level 2 qualifications for the Employer Training Pilots was (a) in each pilot area and (b) across all pilot areas

Phil Hope: The Employer Training Pilots Year 2 Evaluation Report, "Platform for Progression: Employer Training Pilots" (published in March 2005 and available in the House of Commons Library) shows that:
	in 50 per cent. of cases, ETP training is mainly delivered at the learners workplace as part of normal duties;
	in 25 per cent. of cases, it is mainly delivered at the workplace but away from normal duties; and
	in the other 25 per cent. of cases, training is mainly delivered away from the workplace.
	The report also shows that, on average, it takes a participating employee around 100 hours spread over eight months to complete their NVQ. About a quarter of this is done in the employee's own time. Data are not available for individual Employer Training Pilots.

Employer Training Pilots

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in what percentage of cases employer training pilots followed the assess, train, assess model (a) in each pilot area and (b) across all pilot areas; and what priority this model will be accorded in future in respect of small and medium sized enterprises.

Phil Hope: The Employer Training Pilots (ETPs) tested a flexible approach to delivering training, mainly in the workplace. Training providers were encouraged to adopt an innovative 'Assess-Train-Assess' approach to meeting employer and individual skills needs to tailor the training provided to meet identified skills gaps.
	The Employer Training Pilots Year 2 Evaluation Report, "Platform For Progression: Employer Training Pilots" (published in March and available in the House of Commons Library) found that while the vast majority of employers and employees were either 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with their training, only 16 per cent. of participating employees went through all phases of the 'Assess-Train-Assess' training model. As a result, stronger contracting requirements were placed on providers for the third phase of the pilots, launched in September 2004, to ensure that all participating employees received an initial assessment of skills needs.

Family Resolutions Pilot Project

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her answer of 4 July 2005, Official Report, column 156W, on the Family Resolutions Pilot Project, what the reasons for non-referral were for the 71 couples not referred to the Family Resolutions Pilot Project, excluding domestic violence.

Maria Eagle: holding answer 14 July 2005
	Pursuant to my answer of 4 July 2005, Official Report, column 156W, the table sets out the reasons for non-referral to the Family Resolutions Pilot Project for the 71 cases not referred, excluding the 14 cases not referred for reasons of domestic violence. Pursuant also to my answer of 4 July 2005, the interim evaluation has identified that six of the 71 non-referred applicants were from an extended family member. Thus it is more accurate to refer to 71 cases than to 71 couples.
	
		
			  Number of cases 
		
		
			 Parents had already reached agreement 18 
			 Applicant and/or respondent failed to attend 9 
			 Lack of parental consent 9 
			 Applicant seeking to transfer proceedings 5 
			 Child protection/welfare issues (welfare report  ordered) 6 
			 Residence dispute only 5 
			 Other (some of this category included family members  other than parents) 5 
			 Total 57

Headteachers

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will ensure that all headteachers are in receipt of the necessary training before they are required to draft and publish their new staffing structure; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The document "Review of the School Staffing Structure: Guidance for Schools in England" (and is available on the Teachernet and Governornet websites) produced jointly by the DfES, teacher association and employers partners provides governing bodies and headteachers with comprehensive support in identifying the key steps necessary to conduct an effective review of the staffing structure.
	Further support and advice is available from local authorities and from the four unions and associations that are part of Rewards and Incentive Group (RIG), who will shortly provide a 'Frequently Asked Questions' brief. In addition, RIG is intending to further support the process at the outset of the autumn term with a national RIG Helpline, some regional workshops, and by offering a simple self-assessment tool for schools experiencing difficulties to use in identifying any further assistance needed.

Key Stage 2 (Spelling)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what proportion of marks for the Key Stage 2 (a) longer and (b) shorter writing task are awarded for spelling;
	(2)  what the minimum score necessary in the Key Stage 2 spelling test is to be awarded Level 4 overall;
	(3)  how many pupils scored each mark for the most recent Key Stage 2 spelling test.

Jacqui Smith: In the Key Stage 2 English tests, spelling is assessed on the basis of a discrete spelling test, for which seven marks are available out of a total of 100. An overall Level 4 is awarded on the basis of the aggregate score from the shorter writing, longer writing, spelling and reading tests, and is not dependent on achieving a minimum score in any of those tests. Information about numbers of pupils scoring each mark in the spelling test is not collected centrally.

Language Colleges

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many additional language teachers have been appointed in anticipation of the promised additional funding for language colleges;
	(2)  how many specialist language colleges she expects will receive the additional funding she has promised in time for the 2005 autumn term.

Jacqui Smith: In March 2005 the Department announced a package of measures to support the National Languages Strategy. This included an extra £30,000 additional grant for specialist language colleges, although no date was given for the additional funding. We have now written to schools confirming that additional funding for existing colleges (including those redesignating in autumn 2005) will be available from April 2006, and from September 2006 for new colleges.
	The additional funding can be used in a number of ways, one of which is to appoint a shared primary languages specialist co-ordinator to work across the local authority with a group of primaries. It is up to schools to decide how they will use the grant and we do not know how many anticipate appointing additional language teachers with the funding.
	In addition to this funding as part of the "Boost for modern foreign languages" announcement the Government are providing £60 million for initial teacher training, support for foreign language assistants and in-service training for teachers.

Looked-after Children

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment the Department has made of the reasons for (a) the growth in the number of children being taken into care and (b) the effects of that growth on the overall cost of taking children into care.

Maria Eagle: The number of looked-after children who are the subject of a care order made by the family courts has increased from 36,400 on 31 March 2000 to 39,400 on 31 March 2004.
	Before 2000, information was not collected centrally for the costs of looked-after children. We estimate that, in February 2000, the total weekly cost of looked-after children in England was £25 million, or £435 a child, and in February 2003 the total weekly cost was £36.5 million, or £585 a child. (Information derived from the Children in Need Censuses.) Thus, the increases in the costs faced by local authorities in looking after children who have been taken into care arise as a consequence of both the increased number of children who have become the subject of care orders and the increases in the costs experienced by local authorities in caring for them.
	Information is not collected centrally on the detailed reasons for the making of care orders by the family courts. However, section 31(2) of the Children Act 1989 provides that:
	"A court may only make a care order or supervision order if it is satisfied—
	(a) that the child concerned is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm; and
	(b) that the harm, or likelihood of harm, is attributable to—
	(i) the care given to the child, or likely to be given to him if the order were not made, not being what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to give to him; or
	(ii) the child's being beyond parental control."
	Thus, all children who are taken into care by means of the making of a care order will have been considered by the court to have met these criteria, following the making of applications to the courts by local authorities.
	In the Command Paper, "A Fairer deal for Legal Aid" (Cm 6591), published on 5 July 2005, the Government announced a review of child care proceedings in England and Wales. The review will include work to identify innovative practice which enables children to be diverted away from court proceedings and, instead, be supported in their families where this is possible.
	
		Children looked after at 31 March by legal status, 1994–2004(22)—England Numbers
		
			 Legal status 1994(23) 1995(23) 1996(23) 1997(23) 1998(24) 1999(24) 
		
		
			 All children(22) 49,500 49,900 50,800 51,500 53,300 55,500 
			 Care orders(25) 29,400 29,100 29,400 30,700 32,100 34,400 
			 S20 CA 1989 (voluntary arrangements) 18,900 19,500 19,800 19,200 19,100 18,800 
			 On remand or committed for trial or detained(26) 440 450 510 500 650 530 
			 Other legal status(27) 800 910 1,000 1,200 1,500 1,700 
		
	
	
		Numbers
		
			 Legal status 2000(24) 2001(24) 2002(24) 2003(24) 2004(23) 
		
		
			 All children(22) 58,100 58,900 59,700 60,800 61,100 
			 Care orders(25) 36,400 37,600 38,400 39,600 39,400 
			 S20 CA 1989 (voluntary arrangements) 19,300 19,100 19,000 18,900 19,200 
			 On remand or committed for trial or detained(26) 620 320 310 240 240 
			 Other legal status(27) 1,700 1,900 2,000 2,100 2,300 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements.
	2. Figures are taken from the SSDA903 return.
	3. Figures are taken from the CLA100 return.
	4. Includes both full and interim care orders.
	5. For the years ending 31 March 1998 to 2000, includes children who were subject to a compulsory care order under Sections 90–92 of the Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000.
	6. Includes child protection orders and freed for adoption. See Table K for a breakdown of the figure for 2004.

Looked-after Children

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of looked after children were placed (a) outside their original local authority and (b) more than 20 miles outside their home authority, broken down by age for each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: The following table provides the information requested in part (a) . Information on the distance between home and placement has not been collected in the past but will be made available when the Department's 2004–05 looked after children data collection has been processed. These data are expected to be available during the first quarter of 2006.
	
		Number of children in England placed outside council boundary under foster placements, children's homes and hostels at 31 March(22)(23)(24)
		
			  Age at 31 March 
			  All children As percentage of all looked after children Under 1 1–4 5–9 10–15 16 and over 
		
		
			 2000 11,400 20 350 1,200 2,500 5,700 1,700 
			 2001 11,400 19 280 1,100 2,500 5,800 1,700 
			 2002 12,900 22 320 1,200 2,700 6,600 2,000 
			 2003 13,900 23 370 1,300 2,900 7,300 2,100 
			 2004 15,400 25 430 1,400 3,000 8,100 2,400 
		
	
	(22) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements
	(23) Figures are taken from the SSDA903 return and have been rounded
	(24) Excludes independent homes and hostels not subject to Children's Homes Regulations

Looked-after Children

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2005, Official Report, columns 162–63W, on looked-after children, what guidance has been issued to local authorities concerning the number of in year placements; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Since the Government initiated the quality protects programme in 1998, the promotion of placement stability for looked-after children has been an important aspect of our programme. Data on the number of children who move three times in one year has been collected since that time. This data indicates that the percentage of children looked-after at 31 March each year who had three or more placements in one year had declined from 16 per cent. to 13 per cent. between 1998 and 2004.
	Although the Government have not issued specific guidance solely concerned with placement stability, since 1998, all relevant publications relating to looked after-children, such as materials issued as part of the Choice Protects programme, which is intended to improve the availability and quality of foster care and local authority placement commissioning, and the Green Paper "Every Child Matters (2003)", have emphasised the importance of placement stability, in order that looked-after children are enabled to secure the same outcomes as all other children
	As part of the current DfES programme to support the delivery of our revised PSA target with the Treasury to improve placement stability, we are developing further strands of work, in order to analyse and promote good practice in delivering placement stability for looked after children.

Looked-after Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children are placed in independent children's homes out of area of the placing authority.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is not collected centrally for this type of placement. Information on looked after children who are placed outside of the placing authority for homes, which includes homes run by local authorities, the voluntary and independent sectors, and hostels that are subject to children's homes regulations may be found in table J of the Department's publication "Children Looked After by Local Authorities, Year Ending 31 March 2004 Volume 1: Local Authority Tables". This is available on the internet at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000569/vweb01–2005_1.pdf.

Modern Apprenticeships

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the drop-out rates for modern apprenticeships were in each year between 1994 and 2004.

Phil Hope: The Learning and Skills Council routinely publish Apprenticeship outcomes in the Statistical First Release series "Further Education and Work Based Learning for Young People—Learner Outcomes in England".

Part-time Students

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what research she has conducted on the financial situation of part-time students;
	(2)  what research she has conducted on the impact of new fees regulations in higher education institutions with an atypically high level of part-time students;
	(3)  what recent assessment she has made of the merits of fee deferrals for part-time students;
	(4)  what representations she has received from (a) higher education institutions and (b) the Office for Fair Access on the impact on student access of differences between the full-time and part-time student support regimes.

Bill Rammell: Over the last 12 months, Ministers and officials have met regularly with representatives from higher education institutions with high proportions of part-time undergraduate students to discuss a range of issues, including the changes to the student funding system which will be introduced in 2006–07. Ministers have listened to concerns raised by institutions and are considering the most effective means of using available funding to support part-time undergraduate provision. This includes an ongoing consideration of the merits of fee deferral in light of a deepening understanding of the diverse part-time student body.
	To understand better the part-time undergraduate student body, the Department for Education and Skills commissioned Alan Woodley from the Open University's Institute of Educational Technology to survey part-time students. The report "Earning, learning and paying: the results from a national survey of the costs and financing of part-time students in higher education" was published in November 2004. Additionally, part-time undergraduates are included within the scope of the 2004/05 "Student Income and Expenditure Survey" (SIES). The SIES is due for publication early in 2006.
	The Woodley survey confirmed the heterogeneity of the part-time undergraduate student body and that the barriers which individuals may face to participation are, by no means, uniform. Notably, 65 per cent. of part-time undergraduates are in full-time employment with a further 18 per cent. in part-time employment. Moreover, 36 per cent. of part-time undergraduate students have all their fees paid by an employer. Consequently, any consideration of the merits of fee deferral for part-timers must address the financial resources available to individual students and the likelihood of replacing existing employer support.
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has considered representations from institutions for special funding in response to concerns about the impact of variable fees on large scale providers of part-time undergraduate higher education. The Council announced its findings on 1 March. These included a commitment to develop a widening participation measure, from the 2006/07 academic year, designed to ensure that the most disadvantaged students will continue to be able to study on a part-time basis. Details of the measure will be confirmed by the HEFCE board in the autumn. No representations have been received from the Office for Fair Access with regard to part-time undergraduate provision.

School Leavers

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people have left school at 16 years in (a) the Ribble Valley, (b) the North West and (c) England with no qualifications in each of the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested can be found in the following table.
	
		Percentage of 15-year-old pupils with no passes
		
			  Ribble Valley North West England 
		
		
			 2003/04 3.0 4.3 4.1 
			 2002/03 3.6 5.4 5.2 
			 2001/02 1.9 5.3 5.4 
			 2000/01 1.1 5.5 5.5 
			 1999/2000 1.3 5.2 5.6 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The information for this answer is derived from data collected for the School and College Achievement and Attainment Tables (formerly Performance Tables) that are published annually.
	2. As standard the results reported relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year ie 31 August.
	3. For 2003/04 results incorporate GCSEs, GNVQs and a wide range of other qualifications approved pre-16. For 1999/2000 to 2002/03 results are based on GCSEs and GNVQs only.
	4. Parliamentary constituency and regional figures are based only on all maintained schools (including city technology colleges and, from 2003, academies) and have been adjusted in respect of pupils recently arrived from overseas.
	5. England figures are based on all schools and have not been adjusted in respect of pupils recently arrived from overseas.
	6. Maintained secondary schools in Ribble Valley in 2004 were:
	Archbishop Temple Church of England High School and Technology College, Preston
	Bowland High School
	Clitheroe Royal Grammar School
	Corpus Christi Catholic High School
	Fulwood High School and Arts College
	Hillside School, Longridge
	Longridge High School
	Our Lady's Catholic High School
	Ribblesdale High School Technology College
	St. Augustine's Roman Catholic High School, Billington
	St. Cecilia's RC Technology College

School Management Information Systems

Eric Forth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2005, Official Report, column 698W, on school management information systems, what the average cost was of a core administration software package for (a) secondary, (b) primary and (c) special schools in each of the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: The Department does not routinely collect information on the amount that individual schools spend from their delegated budgets on core administrative software packages.
	Becta, the Department's strategic partner for ICT in education, collects some market intelligence, often provided on a commercially confidential basis, as a part of its continuing strategic role in understanding and influencing market activity.
	From the available information, Becta is able to estimate typical costs, which suppliers derive by taking account of the number of pupils in a school and the range of software being licensed.
	Becta's understanding of the annual charges applied by suppliers to a typical primary school is:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1999 140 
			 2000/01 Between 200 and 210 
			 2002 Between 220 and 230 
			 2003 275 
			 2004 (33)380 
		
	
	(33) The latest year for which Becta has usable data
	Becta's understanding of the annual charges made by suppliers to a typical secondary school is:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1999 570 
			 2000 800 
			 2001 870 
			 2002 1,100 
			 2003 1,375 
			 2004 (34)1,900 
		
	
	(34) The latest year for which Becta has usable data
	It is not possible to estimate typical costs for special schools because of the different mix of age ranges of pupils and the scope and complexity of the curriculum structures within a particular school. These factors determine whether a school needs to licence administrative software predominantly covering the needs of a primary school or a secondary school.
	These estimates do not reflect differences in the functionality and service levels offered by individual suppliers. Any comparisons between these estimates and charges made by a particular supplier must therefore take these into account and be made with caution.
	In addition to the estimated typical costs shown above, some suppliers also levy charges for services on local authority support teams. Depending on the policy of the education authority, these extra charges may be passed on to schools.

Second World War Anniversary

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department is taking to promote (a) knowledge of and (b) interest in the 60th anniversary of the end of the second world war in schools; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The national curriculum programmes of study for history cover teaching about Britain and the second world war at key stage 2 and the holocaust and the second world war in key stage 3. In addition the Department was instrumental in the creation of the national remembrance programme of "Their Past Your Future", being delivered by the Imperial War Museum, and also 'Home Front Recall'.
	The Department worked with the MOD in its plans for commemoration last week. This work included preparing resources for schools attending the 'Living Museum' in St. James Park, such as education trails and a ration book. The DfES also continues to assist the MOD in its work on raising awareness and knowledge of veterans in society by helping educational organisations to prepare resources and facilities suitable for schools. This was particularly important for the build up to the 60th anniversary, as the DfES helped to co-ordinate and promote information and to advise on delivery.

Sickness Absence

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many days the Department has lost due to sickness in the past five years for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: My Department remains committed to managing sickness absence effectively and to putting in place the recommendations of the recently published report "Managing Sickness Absence in the Public Sector".
	I refer the hon. Gentleman to the figures contained in the annual report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service" published by the Cabinet Office. Table A of the report gives details of both the average working days absence per staff year and the number of staff years on which that calculation is based. The most recent report is for the calendar year 2003 and was announced by ministerial statement on 1 November and copies placed in the Libraries of the House. Reports for 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 are also available in the Library and on the Cabinet Office website at: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_information/conditions_of_service/caje/publications/index.asp sickness.

Special Educational Needs

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the admissions procedure is for moderate learning difficulty schools in Essex; and what weighting is given to parental choice in the process;
	(2)  whether Essex local education authority has consulted (a) headteachers and staff, (b) parents, (c) county councillors, (d) hon. Members and (e) the public on possible changes to the system of funding (i) moderate learning difficulty and (ii) severe learning difficulty special needs pupils; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what system is used to band special educational needs children in Essex; and what process is used to make assessments;
	(4)  what admissions criteria Essex local education authority has placed on the admission of Band (a) D, (b) E and (c) F special educational needs children to moderate learning difficulty schools; and when these criteria were last revised.

Maria Eagle: Arranging provision for children with special educational needs (SEN) is a matter for schools and local education authorities (LEAS), within the framework set out in the Education Act 1996 and taking account of statutory guidance, such as the SEN Code of Practice. That framework and guidance sets out a graduated approach to meeting children's SEN, including, where necessary, a process for the assessment of children's SEN and the drawing up of SEN statements. Admission to special schools, including those for children with moderate learning difficulties, is through the school being 'named' on the statement, other than in exceptional circumstances, such as where a child is admitted for the purposes of an assessment.
	When a statement is being drawn up or the description of a child's educational needs on a statement and the provision to meet those needs is being amended, parents can ask for the school of their choice, mainstream or special, to be named. The LEA must consider the parents' preference carefully and whether the school is suitable for the child's needs and whether placing the child there is compatible with the education of other children at the school and the efficient use of resources. If the LEA does not name the parents' preferred school, the parents can appeal to the SEN and Disability Tribunal, whose decisions are binding on LEAs.
	The provision made for children with moderate and severe learning difficulties, and the funding for it in the case of those with statements, should be decided upon individually. However, it is open to LEAs to have general SEN funding arrangements, as long as they are prepared to vary those arrangements in individual cases. In May 2004 the Department published guidance on "The management of SEN expenditure" which recommended that changes to funding arrangements should be consulted on widely. However, precise arrangements in each local authority area are matters for the relevant LEA.

Unemployed Graduates

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the unemployment rate among first degree graduates was one year after graduation in each year between 1994 and 2004.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information, which shows the percentage of newly qualified graduates who were unemployed six months after graduation, is shown in the table.
	
		Unemployment rates of UK domiciled full-time first degree graduates UK HE institutions
		
			   of which, those who were unemployed: 
			 Academic year Total graduates with known destination(35) Number Percentage 
		
		
			 1994/95 162,020 14,930 9 
			 1995/96 170,975 13,980 8 
			 1996/97 171,280 11,905 7 
			 1997/98 172,660 9,920 6 
			 1998/99 176,205 9,720 6 
			 1999/00 170,750 9,330 5 
			 2000/01 176,415 11,050 6 
			 2001/02 176,390 12,110 7 
			 2002/03 176,215 12,410 7 
			 2003/04 181,870 11,845 7 
		
	
	(35) The response rate for these surveys is around 80 per cent.; the graduate figures in the table therefore exclude those who did not respond to the survey.
	Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.
	Source:
	First Destination Survey (FDS) 1994/95–2001/02, and Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey (DLHE) for later years. Both surveys are conducted by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
	Additional research commissioned by the Department on the longer term career patterns of graduates shows that destinations at the six month point are not representative of longer-term outcomes. A survey of 1995 graduates shows a significant fall in unemployment rates over time. After one year post-graduation, 5.2 per cent. of graduates were out of work, falling further still to 2.6 per cent. after two years, and 1.3 per cent. after three and a half years. 1
	In addition, projections of occupational demand show that of the 13.5 million total jobs expected to be filled by 2012, 50 per cent.—that's 6.8 million—are in occupations most likely to demand graduates 2 .
	1 Data from Elias, P et al (1999) "Moving On: graduate careers three years after graduation." CSU/DfEE.
	2 Based on data from Wilson, R et al (2004) "Working Futures: new projections of occupational employment by sector and region, 2002–2012" IER, Warwick.

Affordable Housing

Margaret Moran: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many affordable housing units built or procured through the Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme and Challenge Fund have been (a) mixed funded social rented housing, (b) temporary social rented housing, (c) Homebuy general market purchase, (d) Homebuy general new build, (e) mixed funded low cost home ownership for sale, (f) miscellaneous works to registered social landlord (RSL) stock, (g) reimprovements to rented RSL stock, (h) works only rehabilitation of rented RSL stock, (i) works only rehabilitation of RSL stock for sale, (j) intermediate rent for key workers, (k) Homebuy market purchase for key workers, (l) Homebuy new build for key workers, (m) mixed funded sale for key workers and (n) Starter Home Initiative in the east region in each year since 1997–98; and how much was spent on each category in each year.

Yvette Cooper: The following tables show the number of homes built or acquired, and funding provided, through the Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme, the Challenge Fund and the Starter Home Initiative, in the east region for categories from (a) to (n) , for each year since 1997–98.
	Funding and completions are not directly comparable, as funding will relate to projects running, not necessarily units completed, in any one year.
	The information in the tables does not include all programmes that the ADP is used for and therefore does not represent the total funding for the north east region. Other categories with funding during the time period covered by the table are Right to Acquire, Voluntary Purchase Grant, Do-It-Yourself Shared Ownership, and Temporary Intermediate and Market Rent Housing.
	
		Number of homes built or acquired in the eastern region
		
			   1997–97 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 (a) Mixed Funded Rent 1,726 2,170 1,708 1,573 1,576 1,629 1,492 1,826 
			 (b) Temporary rent 122 175 88 68 52 20 38 13 
			 (c) Homebuy market purchase n/a n/a 0 145 105 155 242 3 
			 (d) Homebuy New Build n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 
			 (e) Mixed Funded sale 316 135 65 75 53 34 127 129 
			 (f) Miscellaneous Works n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 (g) Re-improvements rent n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 (h) Works only rehabilitation for rent n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 (i) Works only rehabilitation for sale n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 (j) Intermediate rent for Keyworkers n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 64 
			 (k) Homebuy Market Purchase for Keyworkers n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 485 
			 (l) Homebuy New Build for Keyworkers n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 
			 (m) Mixed Funded sale for Keyworkers n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 28 
			   
			 Challenge Fund  
			 (a) Mixed Funded Rent n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 35 157 
			 (d) Homebuy New Build n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 6 0 
			 (e) Mixed Funded sale n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 13 48 
			  Intermediate Rent n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 22 25 
			   
			 (n) Starter Home Initiative n/a n/a n/a n/a 4 147 486 52 
		
	
	Miscellaneous works, re-improvements to rented RSL stock, works only rehabilitation of rented RSL stock and works only rehabilitation of RSL stock for sale are not recorded as completed dwellings as they may previously have received funding and could therefore be double-counted.
	
		Expenditure in the eastern region for the listed categories £ million
		
			   1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 (a) Mixed Funded Rent 28.78 25.68 32.36 35.58 44.14 51.47 75.66 93.08 
			 (b) Temporary rent 0.80 0.82 0.55 0.44 0.37 0.14 0.36 0.17 
			 (c) Homebuy market purchase n/a n/a 1.28 2.91 2.55 4.36 7.72 5.06 
			 (d) Homebuy New Build n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.00 
			 (e) Mixed Funded sale 1.85 0.97 0.75 0.42 0.71 1.62 2,82 10.05 
			 (f) Miscellaneous Works 2.57 2.30 2.15 2.56 3.16 3.95 3.23 1.25 
			 (g) Re-improvements rent 0.09 0.12 0.08 0.83 0.24 0.68 0.28 0.20 
			 (h) Works only rehabilitation for rent 0.28 0.25 0.12 0.09 0.08 0.12 0.19 0.00 
			 (i) Works only rehabilitation for sale n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.09 
			 (j) Intermediate rent for Keyworkers n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 3.50 
			 (k) Homebuy Market Purchase for Keyworkers n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 17.00 
			 (l) Homebuy New Build for Keyworkers n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.00 
			 (m) Mixed Funded sale for Keyworkers n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 3.47 
			   
			 Challenge Fund  
			 (a) Mixed Funded Rent n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 16.19 2.37 
			 (d) Homebuy New Build n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.24 0 
			 (e) Mixed Funded sale n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 4.44 0.21 
			  Intermediate Rent n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 142 0.1 
			   
			 (n) Starter Home Initiative n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.06 3.07 10.06 1.29

Council Housing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people were registered on council housing waiting lists in each local authority (a) in 1997 and (b) on the last date for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: Information on the number of households on the housing waiting list (excluding tenants awaiting a transfer) in each local authority in England has been placed in the Library of the House. Figures provided are as at 1 April 1997 and 2004, the latest year available.
	Local authorities sometimes maintain a common waiting list with the RSLs, sometimes known as Housing Associations, in their district. However, information is not held centrally where a RSL maintains a separate waiting list to the local authority.

Council Housing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many families were housed in temporary accommodation by each local authority (a) in 1997 and (b) on the last date for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: Information reported each quarter by local authorities about their activities under homelessness legislation includes the number of households in temporary accommodation on the last day of the quarter and since 2002 those that include dependent children or a pregnant woman.
	A table presenting information on the number of households in temporary accommodation by each local authority as at 31 March 1997, and the number as at 31 March 2005 (the latest available date) together with the number that contain dependent children or a pregnant woman., has been placed in the Library of the House.
	The Government have set a target to halve the number of households in temporary accommodation by 2010. Homeless acceptances in the first quarter of 2005 were 20 per cent. lower than the corresponding period in 2004.

Council Housing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Department keeps a list of tenants' advisers for housing transfers.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has a record of tenants' advisers who undertake a range of work which may include work related to housing transfer, but which primarily relates to work on training and networking. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not maintain a list of "approved" tenants advisers solely for housing transfer work.

Council Housing

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will produce guidance for housing associations and local authorities on support for tenants (a) with mental health problems and (b) who exhibit antisocial behaviour.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has already published a range of guidance on these two areas.
	ODPM is committed to working closely with the Home Office and the Housing Corporation, as part of the 'TOGETHER' campaign to support social landlords and other relevant practitioners in tackling antisocial behaviour by way of balanced approaches involving prevention, support and enforcement. This includes providing material aimed at social landlords on the Together website, access to a helpline (the Together hotline) and the Together Academy (a centre of excellence in tackling all aspects of ASB).
	Guidance produced is as follows:
	(a) In April 2004, ODPM published guidance "Achieving positive shared outcomes in health and homelessness", jointly with the Department of Health, to local authorities, PCTs and other health providers on key positive outcomes which health and housing partnerships might work towards, including improving mental health treatment and preventing homelessness through targeted health support.
	(b) "Action on Mental Health" was published by ODPM in October 2004 as a follow up to the Mental Health and Social Exclusion report published in June 2004. The pack contains a number of factsheets aimed at both service users and service providers and gives guidance to promoting social inclusion for adults who are affected by mental health problems. The factsheet on housing gives information on ensuring appropriate housing allocations, enabling someone to keep their home and preventing and addressing homeless for this vulnerable group.
	(c) In March 2005, ODPM published guidance on "Accommodation and support options for people with mental health problems". This was primarily aimed at local authority Supporting People officers and local service commissioners, but will also be of assistance to landlords in understanding the needs and support options of tenants.
	The Housing Corporation's Regulatory Code and guidance sets out the fundamental obligations and expectations of registered social landlords. In July 2004 the corporation published circular "Tenancy Management: Eligibility and Evictions" which provides guidance on RSLs working with local authorities and other agencies to arrange appropriate support, so that it is available at the beginning of a tenancy, to those individuals whose assessments indicate vulnerability for whatever reason.
	In August 2004 the corporation published circular "Statutory Housing Management Guidance on Anti-social Behaviour Policies and Procedures" which sets out the corporation's expectations of RSLs' compliance with section 12 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 and how compliance will be assessed. In addition the corporation has published statutory guidance on the prevention of antisocial behaviour including measures such as mediation services, uniformed warden patrols and reward schemes for tenants with a record of a well conducted tenancy.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people have been fined for non-payment of council tax in England in each year since 1997–98.

Phil Woolas: I refer the Hon. Member for Meriden to the answer given on 20 June 2005, Official Report, column 817W.

Fire and Rescue Services

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his estimate is of the amount of income which will be raised from charging under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 in the 2005–06 financial year.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Section 19 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 states that "taking one year with another" a Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA) may not recover more in charges for its total provision of services in a particular category than it incurred in making that provision. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister do not collect data on the amount raised by FRAs through s19 charging.

Fire and Rescue Services

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria were used to determine the membership of county fire authorities; what guidance has been issued on their composition; and if he will require authorities to include members of district councils in their membership.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Where the county council is the county fire and rescue authority, the membership of the fire and rescue committee is governed by the normal arrangements for local authority committees, and the guidance issued in respect of such committees applies. The membership of a Combined Fire Authority, such as Lancashire, is set out in the relevant Combination Scheme. The Lancashire Fire Services (Combination Scheme) Order 1997 follows the usual pattern and provides for members from the county council and from the unitary authorities in the former county area, i.e. Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen. I have no plans to change these arrangements.

Fire and Rescue Services

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Government plans to extend insurance cover for fire fighters; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to extend insurance cover for firefighters; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Government does not provide insurance cover for firefighters. Firefighter pay, pension and injury arrangements reflect the nature of the job and the risks that may be incurred.
	Cabinet Office is working with other Government Departments to address the cross-emergency service issue concerning terrorism exclusions in some personal insurance policies.

Fire and Rescue Services

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what commitment the Government gave to extend insurance cover for the fire fighters in the 2003 pay agreement.

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what commitment the Government gave to extend insurance cover for firefighters in the 2003 pay agreements.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Government do not provide insurance cover for firefighters. Firefighter pay, pension and injury arrangements reflect the nature of the job and the risks that may be incurred. Dependent on the circumstances of an individual, these can provide a lump sum of up to seven times pensionable pay in the event of death and an ill-health pension and injury benefits giving up to 85 per cent. of salary in the event of an injury curtailing earning capacity.
	Cabinet Office is working with other Government Departments to address the cross emergency service issue concerning terrorism exclusions in some personal insurance policies.

Gypsy/Traveller Sites

Julie Morgan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many inquiries he has received from registered social landlords seeking information about borrowing capital for the development of Gypsy and Traveller sites; what steps he has taken to publicise his policy on such loans; when he expects to publish guidelines; and how he intends to (a) promote this policy and (b) monitor its effectiveness.

Yvette Cooper: Secondary legislation providing for registered social landlords (RSLs) to provide sites for Gypsies and Travellers will come into force in time for the next bidding round for 2006–07. This facility has already been publicised in a variety of ways, including in Parliament and in the Government's response to the ODPM Select Committee Inquiry. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be explaining the new arrangements in more detail to RSLs, in general terms via guidance from the Housing Corporation and through specific bidding guidance on the next bidding round. This guidance will include an explanation of arrangements for monitoring the progress of schemes. Clearly it is too early to assess the effectiveness of this policy, but we will be keeping the progress of this initiative under close review as part of a wider package of measures we are taking to promote increased site provision generally.

Gypsy/Traveller Sites

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Government have to give stronger powers to local councils to (a) remove illegal Traveller camps and (b) tackle unauthorised development.

Yvette Cooper: Local authorities and the police have strong powers under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to evict unauthorised encampments of Gypsies and Travellers from land. The Department has also introduced new police powers in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 which will enable the police to remove Gypsies and Travellers from unauthorised encampments with greater speed.
	Under powers in the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act, as amended by the 1991 Planning and Compensation Act, local planning authorities have wide-ranging enforcement powers to deal with unauthorised development. Since the 7 March this year, local planning authorities have been able to use temporary stop notices, where they consider that there has been a breach of planning control and it is important that the activity which amounts to the breach is stopped.
	The use of these powers is very varied across the country. The Department is working with local authorities and the police to improve the understanding and use of these powers and to renew their operation to see if further action is needed.

Homelessness

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the actual revenue grant payments made by the Homelessness Directorate were in support of local homelessness strategies in each local authority in London in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05.

Yvette Cooper: The following table provides details of actual revenue grant payments made by the Homelessness and Housing Support Directorate to local authorities in London. It also shows the full revenue allocations, as some payments are subject to authorities submitting outstanding supporting documentation.
	Funding provided by the Directorate has supported action to successfully reduce rough sleeping by more than 70 per cent. since 1998, end the use of B&B hotels as long-term accommodation for families with children, and develop homelessness strategies and preventative approaches which have resulted in the first sustained fall in new cases of homelessness for nearly a decade. Homelessness acceptances dropped by 20 per cent. in 2004.
	The National Audit Office have estimated that, by achieving reductions in the use of B&B hotels for families, local authorities nationally have achieved annual savings of up to £50 million. London authorities were generally the highest users of B&B accommodation so will have accrued significant savings.
	In addition to providing revenue grants the Directorate has also, since 2004–05, provided capital funding to authorities and also provides grants to voluntary sector agencies providing services across more than one borough. Capital funding to London authorities was £10.8 million in 2004–05 and is increasing to £14.9 million in 2005–06. Including capital grants and funding to voluntary sector agencies funding from the Directorate to London has increased from £42.7 million in 2003–04 to £43.7 million in 2004–05 and will increase further to £44.0 million in 2005–06. These figures exclude homelessness capital funding provided from the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme.
	Homelessness grants supplement a number of other programmes that help local authorities to tackle homelessness, including housing capital investment, Supporting People and Revenue Support Grant which was increased by £8 million per annum to enable authorities to prepare the homelessness strategies required by the Homelessness Act 2002.
	
		
			£ 
			  Homelessness revenue grant payments: Homelessness revenue grant allocations: 
			  2003–04 2004–05 2004–05 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 68,000 14,000 28,000 
			 Barnet 416,787 123,750 165,000 
			 Bexley 130,800 58,000 58,000 
			 Brent 1,423,000 783,000 783,000 
			 Bromley 183,500 75,000 100,000 
			 Camden 1,834,192 1,808,000 1,808,000 
			 Corporation of London 206,000 515,000 515,000 
			 Croydon Council 1,104,000 600,000 600,000 
			 Ealing 1,224,608 600,000 600,000 
			 Enfield 491,376 250,000 250,000 
			 Greenwich 113,000 100,000 100,000 
			 Hackney 646,000 690,000 690,000 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,300,500 1,500,000 1,500,000 
			 Haringey 491,000 150,000 200,000 
			 Harrow 181,001 183,000 183,000 
			 Havering 26,966 20,250 27,000 
			 Hillingdon 779,712 80,000 80,000 
			 Hounslow 459,000 135,000 180,000 
			 Islington 162,091 0 357,000 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,565,511 943,000 943,000 
			 Kingston upon Thames 121,000 67,500 90,000 
			 Lambeth 1,119,293 1,600,000 2,100,000 
			 Lewisham 102,395 75,000 100,000 
			 Merton 75,000 80,000 80,000 
			 Newham 1,257,000 192,500 255,000 
			 Redbridge 292,000 79,000 105,000 
			 Richmond 386,576 295,000 295,000 
			 Southwark 996,508 1,100,000 1,100,000 
			 Sutton 192,999 112,500 150,000 
			 Tower Hamlets 838,950 800,000 800,000 
			 Waltham Forest 383,000 150,000 200,000 
			 Wandsworth 546,000 300,000 300,000 
			 Westminster 4,434,374 7,366,000 7,366,000

Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister in which Government Office Regions he expects the homes provided under the Government's £60,000 homes competition will be built; and whether he expects homes will be built on (a) formerly contaminated land and (b) privately owned land.

Yvette Cooper: The sites in the design for manufacture competition are located in the South East (seven sites), East Midlands (one site), London (one site) and Yorkshire and the Humber (one site).
	All the sites in the Design for Manufacture competition include formerly contaminated land. Site appraisal will be carried out in due course.
	All the sites are owned by the public sector. School Road, Hastings, is owned by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and all the other sites are owned by English Partnerships.

Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the proportion of households satisfied with the quality of homes in which they live (a) in England and (b) in deprived areas in each year since 1996–97 for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: Figures on households' overall satisfaction with their accommodation for (a) England and (b) deprived areas for each year since 1996–97 are in the following table.
	
		Percentage of households that said they were satisfied with their accommodation
		
			  England Deprived areas 
		
		
			 1996–97 90 83 
			 1997–98 91 84 
			 1998–99 91 85 
			 1999–2000 91 85 
			 2000–01 91 83 
			 2001–02 91 85 
			 2002–03 92 86 
			 2003–04 91 82 
		
	
	Source:
	Survey of English Housing.
	The "deprived areas" referred to in the above table are the 10 per cent. most deprived wards in England as based on a combination of measures covering six domains: income; employment; health and disability; education and skills; housing; and geographical access to services.

Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate the Government has made, or what conditions the Government has required, for the longevity or building life of the residential accommodation provided in the £60,000 home competition.

Yvette Cooper: All the homes to be built through the Design for Manufacture competition will be to high quality standards. The competition evaluation process includes examination of the component life, building process and material performance of the construction process proposed by bidders as well as the maintenance costs and the environmental sustainability of the proposals. The competition also requires that all building methods proposed are capable of achieving all necessary approvals, including conformity with current building regulations and certification by the National House Builders Council, and are also capable of being insured and attracting mortgage lending.

Local Government

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment was made of the transitional funding arrangements accompanying the abolition of local authority social housing grant in assessing the inclusion of Daventry district council in the Council Tax Limitation (England) (Maximum Amounts) Order 2005.

Phil Woolas: I assume the question is referring to transitional arrangements for Negative Housing Subsidy Authorities.
	The points made by the Council in their written representations and at their meeting with me on 25 May were carefully considered. As part of those considerations the Government examined the transitional measures scheme and concluded that the Council's points did not justify setting an excessive budget requirement. I should highlight that the proposed order does not affect the authority's entitlement to benefit from the transitional measures.

Local Government

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he plans to publish a regulatory impact assessment in relation to revoking the Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2004.

Phil Woolas: A Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2004 was published on 13 July and copies were placed in the Libraries of the House.

Local Government

Vera Baird: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what arrangements are in place for the exchange of best practice among local strategic partnerships.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister works with Local Strategy Partnerships (LSPs) to help them improve their performance and encourages them to learn from what works. We have developed a range of resources to enable them to do so. These include:
	establishing www.renewal.net, a web-based source of evaluated evidence about what works for LSPs, presented in a practical and user-friendly format. Renewal.net also has a series of discussion fora which encourage LSPs to exchange best practice;
	developing regional LSP networks, supported by Government Offices for the regions, which enable LSPs to learn from each other;
	providing technical advice from our pool of Neighbourhood Renewal Advisers, ensuring that LSPs have access to specialist knowledge about established and emerging best practice;
	organising national and regional events for LSPs designed to highlight what works and enable LSPs to exchange best practice.

Neighbourhood Improvement Districts

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Government have to legislate for neighbourhood improvement districts.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister currently has no plans to legislate for neighbourhood improvement districts.
	"Citizen Engagement and Public Services: Why Neighbourhoods Matter" (January 2005), invited discussion about the idea. These discussions are ongoing.

Park Land

Lorely Burt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  if the Government will make changes to planning law to protect existing park land from being sold by local authorities;
	(2)  how much park land was sold by local authorities for development between June 2001 and May 2005.

Yvette Cooper: Park land is protected by the provisions of national planning policy guidance note 17 (PPG 17). This requires planning authorities to protect from development all forms of open space, including parks, unless they are demonstrated to be surplus to the requirements of the community. There are no current plans to change this guidance.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold central records of the amount of all park land disposed of by local authorities. We are however committed to developing a national database of green spaces in England, which will help us to identify the location, quantity and changes to green spaces.

Planning Guidance (Car Parking)

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will review planning guidance which states that only 0.9 car parking spaces per dwelling must be provided.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made on 17 July 2003, Official Report, columns 53–57WS by my right hon. Friend the Member for Streatham (Keith Hill)
	This explains that local authorities parking standards should result in an average of 1.5 off-street parking spaces per dwelling over their plan area. The 1.5 is intended to be an average across the plan area. Planning policy does not expect all dwellings in new developments to have 1.5 car parking spaces.
	The Government accepts that parking needs vary, according to location and housing type. To help the development of appropriate standards, research has been commissioned to consider how varying levels of car parking can be achieved in ways consistent with the Government's policies on sustainable residential environments. This research will inform the preparation of the Planning Policy Statement 3: "Housing", a draft of which will be the subject of consultation later this year.

Sickness Absence

David Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many days the Department has lost due to sickness in the past five years for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. The number of days lost due to sickness are contained in the annual report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service" published by the Cabinet Office. Table A of the report gives details of both the average working days absence per staff year and the number of staff years on which that calculation is based on. The most recent of which (for calendar year 2003) was announced by Ministerial Statement on 1 November and copies placed in the Libraries of the House. Reports for 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 are also available in the Library and on the Cabinet Office website at: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_information/conditions_of_ service/caje/publications/index. aspsickness
	The Department is committed to managing sickness absence effectively and is putting in place the recommendations of recently published report "Managing Sickness Absence in the Public Sector".

Standards Board

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister in how many complaints to the Standards Board disposed of (a) directly by the Standards Board, (b) after an adjudication panel and (c) after a local standards committee hearing the respondent to the complaint was (i) disqualified from office, (ii) suspended from office for (A) a period less than three months, (B) three to six months and (C) for over six months and (iii) subjected to a lesser penalty in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Information in respect of the number of cases where members were subject to penalties following determinations by the Adjudication Panel or local standards committees each year is as follows:
	
		
			   Suspended (months)  
			  Disqualified less than 3 3 to 6 over 6 Lesser penalty 
		
		
			 Determinations by the Adjudication Panel   
			 2002–03 27 1 0 0 1 
			 2003–04 97 17 4 2 2 
			 2004–05 25 1 12 6 0 
			   
			 Determinations by local standards committees   
			 2002–03 not applicable not applicable not applicable not applicable not applicable 
			 2003–04 not applicable 14 2 not applicable 18 
			 2004–05 not applicable 19 15 not applicable 26 
		
	
	Note:
	1. Regulations empowering standards committees to determine cases came into effect in 2003–04. Standards committees have no remit to disqualify members, and can only impose a suspension for a maximum of three months.
	2. The Standards Board for England itself has no remit to suspend or disqualify members.

Swindon Borough Council

Michael Wills: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been provided in grants from central Government to Swindon borough council in each year since 1997.

Phil Woolas: The amounts of central Government grant allocated to Swindon borough council since 1997 are shown in the following table. The figures are shown in £000.
	
		
			  £000 
			  Amount 
		
		
			 1997–98 90,376 
			 1998–99 97,101 
			 1999–2000 103,743 
			 2000–01 116,696 
			 2001–02 123,792 
			 2002–03 129,179 
			 2003–04 150,195 
			 2004–05 148,256 
			 2005–06 165,028 
		
	
	The data are taken from the RS (outturn) forms for all years except 2004–05 and 2005–06 when the data are taken from the RA (budget) form. These forms are completed each year by individual local authorities.
	Grants in the table include special and specific grants inside "Aggregate External Finance", Revenue support grant and Redistributed Non-domestic rates.
	Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changing local authority responsibilities.

Tees Valley

Vera Baird: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to increase the economic activity rate in the population of the Tees Valley.

Phil Woolas: The stimulation of economic activity and promotion of entrepreneurial activity are complex and long-term issues, which need to be tackled through the co-ordinated efforts of a range of public, private and community sector organisations.
	The Regional Development Agency for North East England, One NorthEast, is currently engaged in an extensive consultation process on the review of the Regional Economic Strategy. One of the aims of the strategy is to
	"to create an enterprising, risk-taking culture across all sectors, underpinned by a fit for purpose support network",
	and One NorthEast and other regional partners can expect to receive the full support of Government in its efforts to achieve this.
	Tees Valley has a fully rolled out Jobcentre Plus service delivering job-seeking and benefit services under one roof, and from October 2005 will have a Pathways to Work programme to help people claiming incapacity benefit to move into work.

Breast Cancer

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to break down cultural and language barriers preventing women from accessing breast screening services.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 21 June 2005
	For cultural and/or religious reasons, some women are less likely to accept invitations for screening than the general population as a whole. Language and access to acceptable and meaningful information can also be a significant barrier and can effect the coverage levels.
	The national informed choice leaflet, "Breast Screening: The Facts", which is sent out with every invitation for screening, has now been translated into 18 languages.
	In December 2003, NHS Cancer Screening Programmes published "Inequalities of Access to Cancer Screening: A Literature Review". The recommendations in the review have been sent to all local screening programmes.
	A number of local actions have been put in place to combat inequalities in inner-city areas. For example, in Haringey, sessions on screening have been held in community centres, with advocates from the relevant communities attending to translate and encourage women to attend their screening appointment. Many primary care trusts are conducting similar initiatives across the country.
	In 2004, to raise awareness about the availability of breast cancer screening, the NHS Cancer Screening Programmes issued a regional communications pack to all local breast screening programmes to increase coverage rates, the packs include advice on raising the awareness of screening and posters.

Breastfeeding

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has given in each of the last five years to voluntary organisations to promote breastfeeding; if she will list those organisations; and for what specific purposes the funding was provided.

Caroline Flint: The Government are committed to increasing support for breastfeeding and have provided funding to four voluntary organisations over the past five years whose activities support the Department's policy priorities relating to breastfeeding.
	The table lists the funds provided to the voluntary organisations from 2000–05.
	
		
			 £ 
			  National Childbirth Trust Breastfeeding Network Association of Breastfeeding Mothers La Leche League 
		
		
			 2000–01 20,000 10,000 5,000 5,000 
			 2001–02 30,000 30,000 5,800 10,000 
			 2002–03 32,800 8,000 5,000 7,000 
			 2003–04 16,348 14,893 6,300 10,000 
			 2004–05 — 22,249 — 10,350 
			 Total 99,148 85,142 22,100 42,350 
		
	
	In addition, the Department will also provide £450,000 for the National Breastfeeding Helpline over the next three years.

Contraception (Under-16s)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many girls under 16 have been prescribed (a) contraceptive pills, (b) contraceptive implants and (c) contraceptive long-term injections in each of the last eight years;
	(2)  what the age is of the youngest girl to have received contraceptive prescriptions in the last five years.

Caroline Flint: Data from the prescription cost Analysis for England 1 is only available since 2001 and is shown in table 1. Data may not be complete as under 16s may also have been supplied with contraception under a separate exemption category—exemption for contraception supplied free of charge—and data by age is not available for this category. It should also be noted that contraceptive pills may be prescribed for purposes other than contraception, for example, heavy periods or acne.
	1 Prescription Pricing Authority.
	
		Table 1: Total contraceptive items dispensed by type
		
			  2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Tablet-based items prescribed 33,000 33,000 34,000 33,000 
			 Injection-based items prescribed 680 560 630 490 
			 Implant-based items prescribed 21 140 76 110 
			 Total 34,000 34,000 34,000 34,000 
		
	
	The estimated number of young women aged under 16 whose primary method of contraception was the pill, injection or implant obtained from community contraception clinics in the period 1996–97 to 2003–04 is shown in table 2.
	
		Table 2: First contacts with women aged under 16 at national health service family planning clinics by primary method of contraception, England, 1996–97 to 2003–04(38)
		
			  Pill Injection Implant 
		
		
			 1996–97 23,400 1,000 100 
			 1997–98 22,800 1,200 0 
			 1998–99 21,400 1,200 0 
			 1999–2000 23,000 1,500 0 
			 2000–01 23,800 2,000 100 
			 2001–02 24,200 2,300 100 
			 2002–03 24,500 2,500 200 
			 2003–04 25.000 2.700 300 
		
	
	(38) Source:
	Department of Health Statistics Division; return KT31.
	Notes:
	1. This data has been calculated from the "under 16" exemption category on prescription forms. The data are based on a one in 20 sample of all prescriptions that are exempt from charges; prescriptions are free for the under 16s. Individuals may have more than one prescription dispensed during a 12 month period.
	2. Numbers rounded to the nearest hundred; zero indicates less than 50 cases.
	Information on the youngest girl to have received contraceptive prescriptions in the last five years is not available.

Dentistry

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in Hertfordshire have personal dentist service contracts; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The numbers of dental practices which have an open personal dental service (PDS) contract as at 31 May 2005 in Hertfordshire are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Primary care trust Total number of dental practice addresses Number of dental practice addresses in PDS 
		
		
			 Hertsmere 25 1 
			 Welwyn Hatfield 181 — 
			 North Hertfordshire and Stevenage 39 — 
			 South East Hertfordshire 27 — 
			 Royston, Buntingford and Bishop's  Stortford 15 1 
			 Watford and Three Rivers 37 — 
			 Dacorum 30 — 
			 St. Albans and Harpenden 36 1 
		
	
	Note:
	The total number of dental surgery addresses include all addresses with either open general or personal dental service contract at 31 March 2005.

Dentistry

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dental practices were operating in South Woodham Ferrers, Essex, on 1 May; and how many people were unable to register with an NHS dentist in South Woodham Ferrers on that date.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 6 July 2005
	The number of dental surgery addresses within the Maldon and South Chelmsford Primary Care Trust (PCT) area, which provides dental services to the residents of South Woodham Ferrers, and the number of people and the percentage of people who are registered with an national health service dentist, based on the 2003 estimated population figures, are shown in the table.
	
		General dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS)—number of dental surgery addresses and people registered with a NHS dentist in the specified PCTs at the specified dates
		
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford Number/percentage 
		
		
			 Total number of dental surgery addresses as at 30 April 2005 12 
			 Total number of people registered with an NHS dentist as at 31 March 2005 44,222 
			   
			 Percentage of people registered with an NHS dentist(39) as at 31 March 2005 51 
		
	
	(39) Based on 2003 estimated population figures.
	Notes:
	1. The number of registrations are based on a snapshot of the Dental Practice Board's registration database taken at the end of March each year and subsequent retrospective notifications of changes to registrations have not been included.
	2. An active registration is a patient registered with a dentist at the end of March each year. Some PDS schemes do not have any registrations, for example, dental access centres and will not therefore be included in these figures.
	3. A dentist with a GDS or PDS contract may provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed with the PCT. The Dental Practice Board has no information concerning the amount of time dedicated to NHS work by individual dentists.
	4. The patient registrations have been allocated to areas according to the postcode of the dentist's surgery.
	5. The areas have been defined using practice postcodes within the current boundaries.
	There were three dental practices, with eight general dental practitioners (GDPs), operating in South Woodham Ferrers on 1 May 2005. At that point, the three practices had 10,860 NHS patients registered with them.
	Information on the number of people unable to register with an NHS dentists in South Woodham Ferrers is not held centrally.
	Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT has invested £19,970 revenue to improve access, in addition to the 54,590 it received in capital grants from the Department.
	This additional money, which equates to an additional 0.5 general domestic practitioner, has already delivered 1,200 new patient registrations across the PCTs area.
	The PCT has also recruited a dentist from Poland, through the Department's international recruitment programme, and expect this to deliver a further 2,000 new patient registrations.

Dentistry

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the average income of NHS dentists in Hampshire in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Primary care provided by independent general dental practitioners (GDPs) forms the major element of national health service dental services. Most GDPs operate within the national terms of the general dental service (GDS), although some have opted to provide similar patient services under local contracts agreed with their primary care trust (PCT) as part of the recently introduced personal dental service (PDS).
	The table shows the estimated average income of NHS dentists in Hampshire for each year since 1997, calculated on a headcount basis. Whole time equivalent information is not available. A number of dentists moved from GDS to PDS, mainly in 2004–05. These dentists are known to be more committed to the NHS; hence, the effect of their leaving the GDS pool is to reduce the average GDS payments for those who remained at the end of 2004–05.
	It is important to note that a dentist with an open GDS or PDS contract may provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses and that the Dental Practice Board has no information concerning the amount of time dedicated to NHS work by individual dentists.
	
		Average gross fees per GDS dentist(40) in Hampshire, 1996–97 to 2004–05 £
		
			  Average gross GDS fees(41) Average gross PDS payments(42)(43)(44) 
		
		
			 1996–97 62,966 — 
			 1997–98 61,109 — 
			 1998–99 61,186 — 
			 1999–2000 60,665 — 
			 2000–01 60,041 — 
			 2001–02 61,893 — 
			 2002–03 61,378 — 
			 2003–04 61,445 — 
			 2004–05 56,2246 114,650 
		
	
	(40) Averages are calculated on a headcount basis.
	(41) Figures based on dentists with an open GDS contract at the end of the financial year.
	(42) Figures based on 114 dentists with a live PDS contract at 31 March 2005.
	(43) No PDS payments are available prior to 2004–05.
	(44) Average gross PDS fees are based on the full-year value of contractual commitments made by PCTs.
	(45) Break in series due to movement of 114 dentists from GDS to PDS.
	Notes:
	1. Prison contracts have not been included in this analysis.
	2. In view of the boundary changes from health authorities to PCTs in 2002, the areas have been defined using practice postcodes.
	3. Average income is shown gross of any income contributed by dental charges payable by patients.

Health Funding

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding per capita was given to each primary care trust in Essex in 2004–05.

Rosie Winterton: Essex primary care trust's (PCTs) allocation per head of population (per capita) for 2004–05 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  £000 
			  2004–05 allocation per head 
		
		
			 Basildon 1,002 
			 Billericay, Brentwood and Wickford 875 
			 Castle Point and Rochford 866 
			 Chelmsford 852 
			 Colchester 830 
			 Epping Forest 959 
			 Harlow 1,042 
			 Maldon and South Chelmsford 773 
			 Southend on Sea 1,034 
			 Tendring 1,068 
			 Thurrock 873 
			 Uttlesford 787 
			 Witham, Braintree and Halstead Care Trust 798 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health Resource Allocation and Monitoring Analysis

Health Funding

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the health expenditure per head of population in Milton Keynes has been in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Expenditure based on Milton Keynes is not available. The expenditure per weighted head on health in Buckinghamshire Health Authority (HA) area and Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area is shown in the table.
	
		£ per head
		
			  Buckinghamshire HA Thames Valley SHA area 
		
		
			 1997–98 599.87 n/a 
			 1998–99 637.24 n/a 
			 1999–2000 699.93 n/a 
			 2000–01 755.09 n/a 
			 2001–02 976.85 n/a 
			 2002–03 n/a 904.32 
			 2003–04 n/a 1,140.04 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Expenditure has been taken from audited health authority summarisation forms and primary care trust summarisation schedules, which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. The figures have not been adjusted for inflation.
	2. Figures for 1997–98 to 2001–02 have been prepared using gross expenditure figures. Figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 have been adjusted to eliminate expenditure, which would be double counted where an authority acts as a lead in commissioning healthcare or other services. In 2001–02, there was a high degree of inter authority transactions, which have increased the apparent expenditure per head.
	3. In many HAs there are factors, which distort the expenditure. These include:
	the HA acting in a lead capacity to commission healthcare or fund training on behalf of other health bodies; and
	asset revaluations in national health service trusts being funded through HAs or PCTs.
	4. The majority of general dental services expenditure is separately accounted for by the Dental Practice Board. An element of pharmaceutical services expenditure is accounted for by the Prescription Pricing Authority. Total expenditure on these items by the Dental Practice Board and the Prescription Pricing Authority cannot be allocated to individual health bodies, therefore the total expenditure in the answer by health authority does not capture all NHS expenditure within the area.
	Sources:
	Buckinghamshire HA audited accounts 1997–98 and 1998–99.
	Buckinghamshire HA audited summarisation forms 1999–2000 to 2001–02.
	Thames Valley SHA audited summarisation forms 2002–03 and 2003–04
	Primary care trust (PCT) audited summarisation schedules 2000–01 to 2003–04 for bodies within the above health authority areas.
	Weighted population figures.

Hospital-acquired Infections

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to answer of 27 June 2005, Official Report, column 1363W, on Hospital Acquired Infections, during which month this summer she plans to publish the results from the mandatory surveillance of Clostridium difficile.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 4 July 2005
	We expect to publish this data in August.

Infant Formula

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will press for changes in the Revision of Commission Directive 91/321/EEC on infant formulae and follow-on formulae in order to bring this Directive into line with the International Code and subsequent relevant World Health Assembly Resolutions.

Caroline Flint: In the "Choosing Health" White Paper, published last November, the Government promised to press for amendments to the European Commission Directive on infant formula and follow-on formula. The Government supports amendments being proposed in the recast directive, which aim to protect the promotion of breastfeeding throughout the European Union.

Medical Staff Numbers

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nurses of all grades, (b) junior physiotherapists, (c) senior physiotherapists, (d) diagnostic radiographers, (e) therapeutic radiographers, (f) senior managers, (g) managers and (h) allied health professionals were employed in NHS hospitals in (i) West Sussex, (ii) Surrey, (iii) Durham, (iv) the East Riding of Yorkshire and (v) each strategic health authority in each of the last eight years.

Liam Byrne: The information requested as at 30 September each year since 1997 has been placed in the Library.

Mental Health

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the implications of Delivering Race Equality for the training of (a) psychiatrists and (b) other mental health professionals.

Rosie Winterton: "Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care" (DRE) was published in January 2005. It is clear on the need for all those involved in planning or providing mental health services for black and minority ethnic communities to receive training in cultural sensitivity. This could include religious and linguistic needs, care and recovery planning, needs assessment and community engagement.
	To support this training, the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) and the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health have developed 10 essential shared capabilities that everyone working in mental health care should achieve during pre-qualification training. The Department and NIMHE will issue further guidance, for example, on education and training for the new community development workers described in DRE shortly.

NHS Research Ethics Committees

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many members sit on NHS research ethics committees; and whether she plans to introduce payment for their services.

Jane Kennedy: An estimated 1,900 members currently sit on NHS Research Ethics Committees (RECs) in England. At present members are paid expenses for attending meetings. The Government have recently published the report of the ad hoc advisory group on the operation of NHS RECs, which includes the following as one of its recommendations
	"The time commitment required of members and support staff for training should be more formally recognised, as should the time taken in committee hearings and preparation. This implies paying REC members appropriately, either directly or through compensating their employers."
	The National Patient Safety Agency will prepare an implementation plan for the report's recommendations which will be subject to public consultation.

Pensioners (Free Eye Tests)

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost has been to public funds of free eye tests for pensioners in each year since 1997–98.

Rosie Winterton: Estimates of the total costs of national health service sight tests for patients aged 60 and over in England and Wales for the years from 1997 are shown in the table.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 Year(47) England costs Wales costs 
		
		
			 1999–2000 49.6 3.7 
			 2000–01 58.0 3.7 
			 2001–02 64.5 4.1 
			 2002–03 69.1 4.6 
			 2003–04 74.4 4.8 
		
	
	(47) Eligibility for free eye tests for all those aged over 60 re-commenced in 1999–2000.

West Hertfordshire Hospital Trust

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff employed by West Hertfordshire Hospital Trust were assaulted while on duty in the year (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004; and how many prosecutions resulted from these assaults.

Rosie Winterton: The table shows the number of reported violent incidents against national health service staff in the West Hertfordshire Hospital Trust for the years 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03. The information is from the violence, accidents and harassments in the NHS survey. As the survey has been discontinued, figures for 2004 are not available. The Department does not collect information about the number of prosecutions resulting from violent assaults.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: recorded incidents of violent attacks and assaults on staff within West Hertfordshire Hospital Trust in each specified period
		
			  Number of recorded incidents 
		
		
			 2000–01 8 
			 2001–02 110 
			 2002–03 42 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Covers 1 April to 31 March for specified years.
	2. The data collection was discontinued in 2003.
	Source:
	Survey of violence, accidents and harassments in the NHS.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend the disability equality duty to the application by police or local authorities for antisocial behaviour orders.

Hazel Blears: The disability equality duty, introduced by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, will apply to all functions of public authorities with the exception of a few narrow exemptions. All agencies eligible to apply for antisocial behaviour orders, including the police and local authorities, will be covered by the disability equality duty.
	Courts will not be subject to the duty when considering whether to issue orders as this would undermine judicial independence.

Asylum Seekers

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the proportion of people in the UK being assessed for asylum who will (a) fail in their application and (b) leave the UK after failing.

Tony McNulty: Asylum numbers are continuing to fall dramatically year on year, and provisional figures for the whole of 2004 show UK asylum applications including dependants fell by 33 percent., twice the rate of the rest of Europe.
	The number of cases awaiting an initial decision has continued to fall, to 8,700 at the end of March—the lowest level for more than a decade. It is not possible to know exactly what proportion of these applications will fail, or will result in applicants subsequently leaving the UK after failing.
	On the basis of the latest statistics on initial decision outcomes and appeal outcomes, it can be assumed that around 70–80 percent. of the 33,930 asylum applications received in 2004 will ultimately prove to be unfounded.
	The level of removals in 2004 (12,430 principal applicants) is equivalent to around half this level of unfounded applications made in 2004. The equivalent proportion for 1996 is 20 percent. In addition some failed asylum seekers may leave the UK without informing the Immigration Service.
	Our target is to increase the monthly number of removals so that they exceed the monthly number of new asylum applicants expected to be unfounded, by the end of 2005. Increasing removals is a key part of our five year immigration and asylum plan, in particular working with source countries to secure more returns.
	Information on the numbers of asylum applications and removals of failed asylum seekers is published in the quarterly asylum statistics on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Asylum Seekers

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) asylum seekers and (b) immigration detainees in respect of whom all coroners' inquests and legal proceedings are completed have (i) died and (ii) being recorded as harming themselves in the last five years for which figures are available; how long each person concerned had been held in detention prior to death or harm; what the verdict was of the coroners' or other inquiry held into such incidents; and in which establishment each person was held.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 14 July 2005
	There have been four immigration detainee deaths in the last five years where the coroner's verdict is known:
	
		
			 Date of death Length of detention Verdict Establishment 
		
		
			 31 January 2003 3 months Suicide Haslar 
			 7 May 2003 1 day Killed Harmondsworth 
			 1 May 2004 2 months Natural causes Haslar 
			 12 July 2004 4 days Natural causes Port of Dover 
		
	
	There is no record of any having self-harmed in the period prior to their deaths.

Asylum Seekers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) illegal immigrants and (b) failed asylum seekers entered the UK between 1997 and 2004.

Tony McNulty: The information is as follows.
	(a) No government has ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who enter the country illegally. By its very nature it is impossible to quantify accurately, and that remains the case.
	Although it is impossible to determine accurately how many people are in the UK illegally the Home Office published a report, on 30 June 2005, which included an estimate of the size of the illegal migrant population in the UK in 2001. It should be noted that the report included an estimate, not an accurate or definitive figure.
	As mentioned in the report the only method to estimate the size of the unauthorised migrant population in the UK that currently can sensibly be applied is the residual method. As the method relies on data from the census of the population undertaken every 10 years, it is not possible to produce an estimate for other years.
	Failed asylum seekers who do not comply with instructions to leave the UK, who are not appealing or who have exhausted their rights of appeal (including those who abscond during the process) are included in the definition of 'unauthorised' or 'illegally resident' migrant population used in the report.
	A copy of the RDS On-line report 29/05—"Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom in 2001" can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/notes/june_summaries.html.
	(b) Information on when asylum seekers enter the country is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2005, Official Report, column 151W, on correspondence, when he will provide a substantive reply to the letter of 28 February from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 4 July 2005
	I wrote to the hon. Member on 30 June.

Crime

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) final warnings and (b) reprimands have been issued under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in each year for each (i) classification of crime and (ii) age cohort.

Hazel Blears: Information from the Home Office Court Proceedings database on the number of persons in each age cohort under the age of 18 who have been issued with a reprimand or final warning since the introduction of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, by offence type, England and Wales, 1999–2003 is contained in the table.
	Statistics for 2004 will be available in the autumn.
	
		Number of juveniles given a reprimand or final warning by offence type and age cohort, England and Wales 1999–2003(48)(49)
		
			  1999 2000 
			 Offence type 10 to 11 years 12 to 14 years 15 to 17 years 10 to 11 years 12 to 14 years 15 to 17 years 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 365 3,223 4,876 345 3,140 4,767 
			 Sexual offences 13 256 320 30 229 225 
			 Burglary 803 2,874 2,439 630 2,643 2,105 
			 Robbery 58 245 200 69 277 198 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 3,037 17,798 18,756 2,936 16,982 16,997 
			 Fraud and forgery 39 414 1,216 26 362 1,066 
			 Criminal damage 286 930 726 294 945 834 
			 Drug offences 34 1,002 8,535 31 947 6,941 
			 Other indictable offences 29 409 933 31 394 892 
			 Summary offences (excluding motoring) 2,142 12,033 19,987 2,153 12,570 18,482 
			 Total 6,806 39,184 57,988 6,545 38,489 52,507 
		
	
	
		
			  2001 2002 2003 
			  10 to 11 years 12 to 14 years 15 to 17 years 10 to 11 years 12 to 14 years 15 to 17 years 10 to 11 years 12 to 14 years 15 to 17 years 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 414 3,332 4,934 451 3,550 5,344 530 4,372 6,109 
			 Sexual offences 28 240 250 23 203 217 15 235 225 
			 Burglary 614 2,618 2,065 503 2,190 1,859 423 2,075 1,862 
			 Robbery 44 243 198 39 196 127 44 192 133 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 2,516 16,194 16,491 1,911 12,846 13,340 1,955 12,419 13,892 
			 Fraud and forgery 27 309 914 26 225 858 19 187 761 
			 Criminal damage 305 1,096 850 240 916 769 232 1,056 975 
			 Drug offences 32 1,278 7,171 41 1,331 8,145 37 1,293 8,241 
			 Other indictable offences 40 430 872 24 363 912 22 405 967 
			 Summary offences (excluding motoring) 2,381 13,211 18,945 1,890 11,147 16,902 1,932 12,017 19,308 
			 Total 6,401 38,951 52,690 5,148 32,967 48,473 5,209 34,251 52,473 
		
	
	(48) These data are on the principal basis
	(49) Juvenile cautions were replaced by reprimands and final warnings in June 2000

Crime

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on changes in the level of crime in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley in the last five years.

Hazel Blears: Information from police recorded data for the years 1999 to 2004 is contained in the tables.
	Chorley is a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. The most recent available information relates to 2003–04. Data for the period up to 31 March 2005 will be included in the forthcoming publication "Crime in England and Wales 2004–05" which will be available on the Home Office website and in the Library.
	In terms of violent crime, much of the rise in violence against the person which is shown in the tables can be accounted for by changes to the way the police define and record certain offences. Police recorded crime data are subject to changes in police recording practices, including those relating to national Counting Rules and recording standards. The Counting Rules changes in 1998 had a very significant impact on violent crime, across England and Wales the numbers of such crimes recorded by the police increased by 83 per cent. in the first year of using the new rules. The National Crime Recording Standard, introduced in April 2002, again resulted in increased recording of violent crimes, particularly for less serious violent offences. In addition, increased police activity can have an impact on how many offences are recorded, because, in such circumstances, police officers may encounter and record incidents that may not previously have been reported or recorded.
	In comparison, British Crime Survey data, widely regarded as the most authoritative view of violent crime, shows considerable reductions in violent crime across England and Wales since 1997.
	
		Table 1a: Recorded crime for six key offences in the Chorley Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area, 1999–2000 to 2001–02(50)
		
			  1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 551 581 646 
			 Sexual offences 38 47 49 
			 Robbery 27 32 64 
			 Burglary in a dwelling 526 492 780 
			 Theft of a motor vehicle 464 414 413 
			 Theft from a motor vehicle 700 837 872 
			 Total(51) — — 7,579 
		
	
	(50) The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.
	(51) Available only from 2001–02.
	
		Table 1b: Recorded crime for six key offences in the Chorley Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area, 2002–03 to 2003–04(52)
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 761 1,553 
			 Sexual offences 62 60 
			 Robbery 42 48 
			 Burglary in a dwelling 579 479 
			 Theft of a motor vehicle 375 266 
			 Theft from a motor vehicle 759 603 
			 Total 6,942 7,873 
		
	
	(52) The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.
	
		Table 2a: Crime recorded by Lancashire Police, 1999–2000 to 2001–02(53)
		
			  1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 9,803 11,710 15,935 
			 Sexual offences 754 936 992 
			 Robbery 1,058 1,224 1,608 
			 Burglary(54) 21,360 21,673 23,920 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods(55) 44,459 46,060 52,016 
			 Fraud and forgery 4,024 5,935 6,338 
			 Criminal damage 22,776 25,445 31,925 
			 Drug and other offences 4,632 4,650 5,026 
			 Total 108,866 117,633 137,760 
		
	
	(53) The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.
	(54) All burglary, including attempted burglary.
	(55) Including theft of and from a motor vehicle.
	
		Table 2b: Crime recorded by Lancashire Police, 2002–03 to 2003–04(56)
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 15,784 26,676 
			 Sexual offences 1,069 1,337 
			 Robbery 1,409 1,285 
			 Burglary(57) 20,487 19,571 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods(58) 49,223 50,660 
			 Fraud and forgery 5,839 7,157 
			 Criminal damage 30,733 39,447 
			 Drug and other offences 5,963 5,702 
			 Total 130,507 151,835 
		
	
	(56) The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.
	(57) All burglary, including attempted burglary.
	(58) Including theft of and from a motor vehicle.

Crime

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the annual number of recorded crimes per 1,000 population was for (a) Northamptonshire police force, (b) Northamptonshire's most similar family of forces and (c) an average for England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is given in the table.
	Since 1997, there have been two major changes to the way crime is recorded. The effect of the change in the counting rules in 1998 was to artificially increase total recorded crime nationally by 14 per cent. while it is estimated that the effect of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) in April 2002 caused a further increase of 10 per cent. in total recorded crime in its first year.
	
		Total recorded crime in Northamptonshire and it's most similar forces—rate per 1,000 population 1994 to 2003–04 Rate per 1,000 population
		
			 Police force area 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998–99(59) 
		
		
			 Cambridgeshire 90 98 100 85 94 
			 Cheshire 77 75 68 62 66 
			 Hampshire 82 78 78 71 73 
			 Hertfordshire 65 66 63 58 57 
			 Kent 101 100 95 79 83 
			 Northamptonshire 97 95 96 89 107 
			 Staffordshire 89 87 87 85 87 
			 Warwickshire 86 78 78 71 76 
			 England and Wales 102 99 97 88 98 
		
	
	
		
			  1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03(60) 2003–04 
		
		
			 Cambridgeshire 95 89 95 120 112 
			 Cheshire 66 64 72 86 94 
			 Hampshire 76 75 76 86 100 
			 Hertfordshire 60 62 64 83 92 
			 Kent 79 81 75 83 86 
			 Northamptonshire 99 91 97 117 123 
			 Staffordshire 93 99 111 104 104 
			 Warwickshire 76 73 83 87 89 
			 England and Wales 101 98 104 113 113 
		
	
	(59) Figures using the expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998.
	(60) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures before and after that data are not directly comparable.

Disqualified Drivers

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers were disqualified from driving for a period of over two years in each of the last five years; how many subsequently applied to the sentencing court for part of the disqualification period to be lifted on grounds of hardship; and how many were successful.

Paul Goggins: Available information taken from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database on the number of disqualifications imposed on drivers for motoring offences for a period of two years and over from 1999 to 2003 (latest available), is given in the table.
	2004 data will be available early in 2006.
	Information is not held centrally on the number of appeals and outcome against disqualifications from driving.
	
		Driving disqualifications(61)imposed at all courts for a period of two years and over for motoring offences, England and Wales, 1999 to 2003 Number of offences
		
			  Disqualification period  
			  2 years and over Life Total 
		
		
			 1999 44,844 45 44,889 
			 2000 43,780 26 43,806 
			 2001 46,300 18 46,318 
			 2002 50,803 35 50,838 
			 2003 53,453 46 53,499 
		
	
	(61) Excludes persons disqualified by the courts under section 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (penalty points system).

Illegal Immigrants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of how many illegal immigrants live in the UK; and what research he has commissioned into the routes of illegal migration into the UK.

Tony McNulty: No government has ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally. By its very nature it is impossible to quantify accurately, and that remains the case.
	Although it is impossible to determine accurately how many people are in the UK illegally the Home Office published a report, on 30 June 2005, which included an estimate of the size of the illegal migrant population in the UK in 2001. It should be noted that the report included an estimate, not an accurate or definitive figure.
	As mentioned in the report the only method to estimate the size of the unauthorised migrant population in the UK that currently can sensibly be applied is the residual method. As the method relies on data from the census of the population undertaken every 10 years, it is not possible to produce an estimate for a more recent year.
	A copy of the Research Development and Statistics Directorates (RDS) On-line report 29/05—"Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom in 2001" can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/notes/june_summaries.html.
	The Home Office has commissioned research that provides some information on the routes of illegal migration into the UK. The findings are contained in an RDS On-line report 20/05 "A survey of the illegally resident population in detention in the UK" (found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/onlinepubs1.html).

Illegal Immigrants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate the Government have made of how many immigrants are in the UK having overstayed their visas.

Tony McNulty: Information on the total number of immigrants who have overstayed their visa, is not available. This could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records. In addition some applicants may leave the United Kingdom without informing the Immigration Service.
	E-borders and ID cards will enable us to monitor this more precisely in the future.
	No government has ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally. By its very nature it is impossible to quantify accurately, and that remains the case.
	Although it is impossible to determine accurately how many people are in the UK illegally the Home Office published a report, on 30 June 2005, which included an estimate of the size of the illegal migrant population in the UK in 2001. It should be noted that the report included an estimate, not an accurate or definitive figure.
	Overstayers are included in the definition of 'unauthorised' or 'illegally Resident' migrant population used in the report.
	A copy of the RDS On-line report 29/05—"Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom in 2001" can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/notes/june_summaries.html.

Illegal Immigrants

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the change in the number of unauthorised residents in the UK since 2001;
	(2)  what proportion of the unauthorised migrant population estimated in his Department's research study were estimated to have arrived in the UK between 1991 and 2001.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 7 July 2005
	No government has ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally. By its very nature it is impossible to quantify accurately, and that remains the case.
	Although it is impossible to determine accurately how many people are in the UK illegally the Home Office published a report, 30 June 2005, which included an estimate of the size of the illegal migrant population in the UK in 2001. It should be noted that the report included an estimate, not an accurate or definitive figure.
	As mentioned in the report the only method to estimate the size of the unauthorised migrant population in the UK that currently can sensibly be applied is the residual method. As the method relies on data from the census of the population undertaken every 10 years, it is not possible to produce an estimate for a more recent year. It is also not possible to estimate the proportion of the unauthorised migrant population who arrived in the UK between 1991 and 2001.
	A copy of the RDS On-line report 29/05—"Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom in 2001" can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/notes/june_summaries.html.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the pilot service level agreements between regional offender managers and the probation boards.

Fiona Mactaggart: In preparation for the move to commissioning of offender services, a programme of work is underway to develop a standard service level agreement. Service level agreements will then be drawn up between regional offender managers and all probation boards within their region for operation in 2006–07. As part of this work, "shadow" service level agreements have been drafted this year with the following probation boards:
	Bedfordshire;
	Cambridgeshire;
	Cheshire;
	Cumbria;
	Essex;
	Greater Manchester;
	Hertfordshire;
	Lancashire;
	Merseyside;
	Norfolk;
	Suffolk.
	Copies of these "shadow" service level agreements have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Parking Fines

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was raised by parking fines in (a) Humberside and (b) England in each of the last five years.

Charles Clarke: Information on the revenue raised from parking summary offences is not available.
	Available information, given in the tables show the number of fines at magistrates' court and the number of fixed penalty notices issued for all offences of obstruction, waiting and parking in the Humberside police force area and England, during the calendar years 1999 to 2003 (latest available).
	Not all fines and fixed penalties will have been paid.
	Information for 2004 will be available early in 2006.
	Under The Road Traffic Act 1991 decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE) powers allow local authorities to take over responsibility for enforcing parking contraventions from the police. Data on fixed penalty notices issued under DPE are not included within the tables. Humberside does not operate DPE.
	
		Table 1: Fixed penalty and court proceedings data for obstruction, waiting and parking offences(66) within Humberside police force area(67) 1999–2003 Number of offences
		
			  Fixed penalties Court proceedings(68) 
			  Endorsable Non-endorsable  
			  Number of tickets(69) Estimated revenue (£) Number of tickets(69) Estimated revenue (£)(70) Number of fines Total amount of fine (£) Average fine (£) 
		
		
			 1999 2 80 23,900 478,200 303 9,200 30 
			 2000 4 173 26,600 576,200 125 3,600 29 
			 2001 3 180 25,700 771,000 83 3,400 40 
			 2002 2 120 26,500 795,100 160 6,200 39 
			 2003 1 60 25,500 765,100 214 8,400 39 
		
	
	(66) Offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s.22; Transport Act 2000 ss.173 (5); 173 (6); 173 (7); 174 (3); 175 (2); 175 (3); 175 (4); 190 Highway Act 1835 ss 72 and 78; RTA 1988 ss. 19 and 21; Highways Act 1980 s. 137 (1); Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 ss. 5 (1), 8, 32–36 and 45–53; Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) regulations 1986 Regs. 101 and 103; Transport Act 2000 Part III.
	(67) On-street parking in the force area is not decriminalised.
	(68) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.
	(69) Only covers tickets paid where there is no further action.
	(70) Underestimates based on the lowest level of non-endorsable penalty charge: 20 to October 2000 and 30 from November 2000.
	
		Table 2: Fixed penalty and court proceedings data for obstruction, waiting and parking offences(71) England(72) 1999–2003 Number of offences
		
			  Fixed penalties Court proceedings(73) 
			  Endorsable Non-endorsable  
			  Number of tickets(74) Estimated revenue (£) Number of tickets(74) Estimated revenue (£)(75) Number of fines Total amount of fine (£) Average fine (£) 
		
		
			 1999 196 7,800 1,656,000 33,124,000 14,400 877,300 61 
			 2000 158 6,800 1,450,000 31,411,000 12,500 889,600 71 
			 2001 148 8,900 1,195,000 35,836,000 12,000 829,300 69 
			 2002 111 6,700 1,031,000 30,920,000 11,300 807,600 71 
			 2003 144 8,600 915,500 27,465,000 11,900 845,600 71 
		
	
	(71) Offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s.22; Transport Act 2000 ss.173 (5); 173 (6); 173 (7); 174 (3); 175 (2); 175 (3); 175 (4); 190 Highway Act 1835 ss 72 and 78; RTA 1988 ss. 19 and 21; Highways Act 1980 s. 137 (1); Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 ss. 5 (1), 8, 32–36 and 45–53; Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) regulations 1986 Regs. 101 and 103; Transport Act 2000 Part III; Metropolitan Police Act 1839s. 54(1).
	(72) Does not include Decriminalised Parking Enforcements (DPE).
	(73) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.
	(74) Only covers tickets paid where there is no further action.
	(75) Underestimates based on the lowest level of non-endorsable penalty charge: 20 to October 2000 and 30 from November 2000.

Police

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers have been introduced in Newport East; and what assessment he has made of the impact they have had on levels of crime and antisocial behaviour in Newport East.

Hazel Blears: Gwent constabulary had 77 community support officers (CSOs) on 31 March 2005. Information is not centrally collected about the number of CSOs in Basic Command Units. Arrangements are being made to collect such data.
	We have commissioned a national evaluation of community support officers (CSOs) which will be published later this year. An interim report, "National Evaluation of Community Support Officers", published in December 2004 (available at www.policereform.gov.uk), indicated that CSOs are having a positive impact on some types of anti-social behaviour and lower level crime, for example vehicle related crime and personal robbery. The main aim of CSOs is to provide a visible and reassuring presence on the streets.

Police

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in Newport East in 1997; and how many there were in the last period for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: Information on police officer strength at Basic Command Unit (BCU) level is collected annually and reflects the position at the end of March. This data has only been collected since March 2002. Information for 31 March 2005 will be published at the end of July. Information on police strength at constituency level is not collected. The deployment of police staff to BCUs is a matter for the chief constable (Mr. Mike Tonge).

Police

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is available to police officers when it is known before an arrest is made that an individual is mentally or physically disabled.

Hazel Blears: The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), in conjunction with National Police Training, produced guidance in 1996 on restraint techniques entitled "Personal Safety Training". The guidance covers conflict management and highlights factors, including mental illness, which should be taken into account by officers when assessing the appropriate level of response in a given situation. The guidance is subject to ongoing review and update.
	Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Code of Practice C, issued under the PACE Act 1984 sets out the special considerations which must be applied when dealing with mentally vulnerable and physically disabled persons in custody. Annex E of Code C provides a summary of provisions relating to mentally disordered and otherwise mentally vulnerable people.
	Guidance on local protocols relating to mental health, including an appropriate place of safety under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, was issued to chief officers of police under Home Office Circular 17/2004. The guidance was issued in consultation with ACPO, the National Institute for Mental Health and other stakeholders.

Police

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the three-year cumulative change in formula grant funding for the police forces in England and Wales between 2003–04 and 2005–06 (a) before and (b) after the floor damping scheme.

Hazel Blears: The information is set out in the table.
	
		
			   £ million 
			  Formula grant before floor damping Formula grant after floor damping 
			 Local authority 2003–04 2005–06 Change 2003–04 2005–06 Change 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset police 157.1 172.2 15.1 157.1 170.0 12.9 
			 Bedfordshire police 60.2 65.7 5.5 60.1 65.1 5.0 
			 Cambridgeshire police 73.2 80.1 6.9 71.1 77.9 6.8 
			 Cheshire police 105.6 110.8 5.3 103.9 111.3 7.4 
			 Cleveland police 84.5 91.9 7.4 84.1 90.9 6.8 
			 Cumbria police 57.8 61.0 3.2 57.7 62.1 4.4 
			 Derbyshire police 97.3 103.7 6.4 97.9 105.0 7.0 
			 Devon and Cornwall police 160.4 171.2 10.8 161.5 173.0 11.5 
			 Dorset police 58.6 61.8 3.2 61.6 66.0 4.4 
			 Durham police 81.7 86.9 5.2 81.5 87.8 6.3 
			 Dyfed-Powys(82) 48.9 51.0 2.1 49.3 52.2 2.9 
			 Essex police 143.3 153.3 10.0 155.9 167.0 11.1 
			 GLA—police 1788.5 1976.3 187.9 1764.0 1927.8 163.8 
			 Gloucestershire police 56.5 59.8 3.3 57.0 61.1 4.1 
			 Greater Manchester police 388.5 418.3 29.8 380.8 412.5 31.7 
			 Gwent(82) 69.6 72.9 3.3 69.6 74.1 4.5 
			 Hampshire police 179.7 192.7 13.0 184.5 197.7 13.2 
			 Hertfordshire police 97.0 104.1 7.1 101.5 108.8 7.3 
			 Humberside police 111.1 118.2 7.0 110.9 118.9 7.9 
			 Kent police 168.7 177.9 9.2 176.8 189.5 12.6 
			 Lancashire police 179.1 192.1 13.0 177.1 190.8 13.7 
			 Leicestershire police 98.9 109.8 10.9 98.8 107.7 9.0 
			 Lincolnshire police 58.2 64.0 5.7 58.7 63.4 4.7 
			 Merseyside police 243.1 255.6 12.5 240.5 257.7 17.2 
			 Norfolk police 79.6 86.0 6.4 79.6 85.9 6.3 
			 North Wales(82) 73.4 76.3 2.9 73.4 78.3 4.9 
			 North Yorkshire police 68.2 72.6 4.4 70.4 75.4 5.0 
			 Northamptonshire police 64.2 69.2 5.0 62.2 67.8 5.6 
			 Northumbria police 221.1 235.4 14.3 214.3 232.2 17.8 
			 Nottinghamshire police 123.7 133.9 10.1 123.6 133.3 9.8 
			 South Wales(82) 158.3 165.1 6.8 163.0 174.5 11.5 
			 South Yorkshire police 172.7 184.1 11.4 172.3 185.7 13.4 
			 Staffordshire police 104.3 111.0 6.7 105.8 113.3 7.6 
			 Suffolk police 63.1 67.6 4.5 63.9 68.5 4.6 
			 Surrey police 71.1 77.2 6.1 85.4 91.5 6.1 
			 Sussex police 144.8 152.1 7.4 153.1 164.0 10.9 
			 Thames Valley police 204.0 216.5 12.5 205.9 220.6 14.7 
			 Warwickshire police 47.8 52.0 4.1 48.2 51.8 3.6 
			 West Mercia police 103.0 109.3 6.3 104.4 111.8 7.4 
			 West Midlands police 413.6 442.3 28.7 386.5 426.5 40.0 
			 West Yorkshire police 298.6 318.3 19.6 289.4 313.6 24.2 
			 Wiltshire police 58.7 61.7 3.0 58.7 62.9 4.3 
		
	
	(82) Because the Welsh Assembly does not operate a grant damping mechanism, the Home Secretary has for several years provided additional funding to ensure Welsh police authorities receive at least a minimum increase in grant in line with English authorities. These additional grants amounted to £5. 1 million.

Police

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the effect on the grant to the Northamptonshire Police Authority was as a result of the Floor Damping scheme for formula grant funding in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06.

Hazel Blears: Government funding for police authorities is chiefly allocated using a funding formula that distributes resources on the basis of relative need and resources. A damping mechanism subsequently applied to protect all authorities against financial instability ensures all authorities receive an increase in grant at least equal to the "floor" level on a like-for-like basis year-on-year. Grant floors will remain an integral part of the finance system.
	The general grant floor of 3.75 per cent. this year guaranteed a minimum increase in general grants for all police authorities. Northamptonshire Police Authority's increases are given in the table.
	
		Northamptonshire Police Authority general grants allocation
		
			  Before damping (£ million) After damping (£ million) Effect of damping (£ million) Net increase (percentage) 
		
		
			 2003–04 64.2 62.2 -2.0 4.90 
			 2004–05 66.5 64.3 -2.2 3.30 
			 2005–06 69.2 67.8 -1.4 5.50 
		
	
	The average increases for England and Wales were 4.3 per cent., 3.3 per cent. and 4.8 per cent.

Police

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in the last five years persons have been (a) charged with and (b) convicted of offences in relation to unauthorised (i) access to and (ii) disclosure of information held on the Police National Computer.

Hazel Blears: It is not possible to identify from the Home Office Court Proceedings database offences relating to the misuse of the Police National Computer, as details of individual offences are not centrally collected.
	The Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) get requests for investigations from forces on misuse of the police national computer should a force become suspicious of abuse of the system. Data on the number of prosecutions brought as a result of these investigations are not collected centrally.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) cost and (b) original budgeted figure for running each prison was in the financial year 2004–05.

Fiona Mactaggart: The costs and original budgeted figures for running each prison within the Public Prison Service for 2004–05 are given in table 1.
	The 2004–05 figures for contracted figures are not yet available. The costs for running each contracted prison in the financial year 2003–04 are given in table 2. The original budgeted figures for each contracted prison in 2003–04 are not held centrally.
	
		Table 1 £
		
			  Establishments-Public Prisons 2004–05 Budgets Adjusted 2004–05 actual spends 
		
		
			 001 Acklington 14,917,189.00 14,832,070.00 
			 002 Albany 11,320,478.00 11,200,111.00 
			 003 Ashwell 10,203,317.00 10,209,699.00 
			 004 Askham Grange 3,677,857.00 3,628,808.00 
			 005 Aylesbury 12,978,824.00 12,999,179.00 
			 006 Bedford 11,557,865.00 11,910,478.00 
			 007 Belmarsh 34,500,734.53 35,101,849.00 
			 008 Birmingham 29,392,199.50 28,115,788.50 
			 009 Blakenhurst 18,290,866.00 17,547,075.00 
			 010 Blantyre House 2,870,536.00 2,847,341.00 
			 011 Blundeston 11,083,124.00 11,220,183.00 
			 012 Brinsford 15,724,398.00 15,253,675.00 
			 013 Bristol 16,489,233.00 17,654,815.00 
			 014 Brixton 21,294,144.00 21,694,228.00 
			 015 Brockhill 6,678,925.00 7,066,126.00 
			 016 Buckley Hall 8,855,528.00 9,618,038.00 
			 017 Bullingdon 19,268,574.00 19,263,748.00 
			 018 Bullwood Hall 7,802,347.00 8,107,852.00 
			 019 Camp Hill 11,626,485.00 11,589,936.00 
			 020 Canterbury 7,052,229.00 7,028,161.00 
			 021 Cardiff 15,816,430.00 15,899,772.00 
			 022 Castington 14,131,341.00 14,049,927.00 
			 023 Channings Wood 13,398,331.29 13,496,966.29 
			 024 Chelmsford 15,317,287.00 15,601,356.00 
			 025 Coldingley 9,095,906.00 9,140,570.00 
			 026 Cookham Wood 4,827,303.00 4,674,198.00 
			 027 Dartmoor 14,725,573.33 14,941,524.33 
			 028 Deerbolt 13,872,100.00 13,998,620.00 
			 029 Dorchester 6,835,320.21 7,045,806.21 
			 030 Dover 8,612,362.00 8,611,126.00 
			 031 Downview 10,162,011.00 10,569,695.00 
			 032 Drake Hall 7,762,547.00 7,927,240.00 
			 033 Durham 21,935,991.30 21,897,082.30 
			 035 East Sutton Park 2,333,533.00 2,436,134.00 
			 036 Eastwood Park 10,072,400.00 10,274,898.00 
			 037 Elmley 16,774,961.70 16,768,875.70 
			 038 Erlestoke 8,261,755.00 8,270,228.00 
			 039 Everthorpe 9,961,465.00 9,558,717.00 
			 040 Exeter 11,916,771.70 11,964,286.70 
			 041 Featherstone 13,752,579.00 13,722,618.00 
			 042 Feltham 32,073,566.00 38,423,319.00 
			 043 Ford 7,174,864.00 8,155,014.00 
			 044 Foston Hall 7,782,342.00 7,857,140.00 
			 045 Frankland 30,931,213.00 32,131,897.92 
			 046 Full Sutton 25,486,631.56 25,664,941.00 
			 047 Garth 14,848,126.00 15,522,885.00 
			 048 Gartree 11,176,868.00 11,321,333.00 
			 049 Glen Parva 20,235,017.00 19,572,205.00 
			 050 Gloucester 14,075,935.25 9,427,751.00 
			 051 Grendon 14,310,307.00 14,704,902.00 
			 052 Guys Marsh 9,892,737.91 9,851,987.91 
			 053 Haslar 4,225,633.00 4,269,224.00 
			 054 Haverigg 11,041,151.00 11,714,695.00 
			 055 Hewell Grange 3,762,688.00 3,917,925.00 
			 056 Highdown 18,004,769.00 18,931,089.00 
			 057 Edmunds Hill 10,666,584.00 9,962,096.00 
			 058 Highpoint 14,039,750.00 14,034,826.00 
			 059 Hindley 19,691,362.00 18,645,130.00 
			 060 Hollesley Bay 6,709,050.89 6,873,864.89 
			 061 Holloway 24,934,009.96 25,575,085.96 
			 062 Holme House 20,756,951.00 20,527,752.00 
			 063 Hull 22,516,738.00 22,285,797.00 
			 064 Huntercombe 14,552,559.00 14,580,860.00 
			 065 Kingston 5,504,432.00 5,515,193.00 
			 066 Kirkham 12,849,421.00 13,179,918.00 
			 067 Kirklevington Grange 3,999,542.00 3,935,712.00 
			 068 Lancaster Castle 7,111,308.00 7,139,154.00 
			 069 Lancaster Farms 17,138,834.00 16,682,160.00 
			 070 Latchmere House 3,498,602.00 3,439,878.00 
			 071 Leeds 25,376,641.90 25,289,013.90 
			 072 Leicester 9,961,317.00 9,733,096.00 
			 073 Lewes 12,408,819.00 12,471,889.00 
			 074 Leyhill 10,655,272.00 11,042,872.00 
			 075 Lincoln 13,689,006.89 13,671,496.89 
			 076 Lindholme 19,545,565.00 19,278,106.00 
			 078 Littlehey 12,238,550.00 12,271,304.00 
			 079 Liverpool 27,067,777.23 28,102,218.23 
			 080 Long Lartin 21,193,519.14 21,227,384.00 
			 081 Low Newton 9,399,970.00 9,571,447.00 
			 082 Maidstone 11,587,849.00 11,293,615.00 
			 083 Manchester 29,575,723.20 29,740,822.00 
			 084 Moorland 22,383,083.10 22,512,870.10 
			 085 Morton Hall 8,365,652.00 7,915,508.00 
			 086 Mount (The) 14,440,389.00 14,259,835.00 
			 087 New Hall 15,265,071.00 15,352,984.00 
			 088 North Sea Camp 4,810,305.00 4,937,493.00 
			 089 Northallerton 6,134,252.00 6,084,423.00 
			 090 Norwich 16,892,523.00 16,645,920.00 
			 091 Nottingham 12,920,881.00 12,965,515.00 
			 092 Onley 15,199,286.00 14,813,252.00 
			 093 Parkhurst 14,842,047.00 14,873,068.00 
			 094 Pentonville 26,877,240.00 27,808,745.00 
			 095 Portland 12,680,018.77 12,708,962.77 
			 096 Preston 15,901,980.00 16,043,797.00 
			 097 Ranby 20,349,164.00 18,864,003.00 
			 098 Reading 8,257,293.83 8,269,537.83 
			 099 Risley 20,532,956.00 20,477,940.00 
			 100 Rochester 9,518,882.00 9,434,344.00 
			 101 Send 5,932,097.00 5,927,005.00 
			 102 Shepton Mallet 5,213,114.00 5,361,730.00 
			 103 Shrewsbury 8,208,040.00 8,229,798.00 
			 104 Stafford 13,614,637.00 13,908,420.00 
			 105 Standford Hill 8,916,002.00 8,886,705.00 
			 106 Stocken 11,496,212.00 11,341,130.00 
			 107 Stoke Heath 18,505,733.00 18,110,822.00 
			 108 Styal 13,807,418.00 14,226,049.00 
			 109 Sudbury 8,752,867.00 8,554,575.00 
			 110 Swaleside 14,727,483.02 15,222,670.02 
			 111 Swansea 9,597,035.00 9,493,789.00 
			 112 Swinfen Hall 14,974,139.00 13,310,927.00 
			 113 Thorn Cross 8,732,631.00 8,802,198.00 
			 114 Usk 8,148,437.00 8,173,464.00 
			 115 Verne (The) 10,088,740.28 10,113,137.28 
			 116 Wakefield 22,768,755.30 22,999,358.53 
			 117 Wandsworth 30,283,700.00 34,342,583.00 
			 118 Warren Hill 9,939,930.00 9,843,446.00 
			 119 Wayland 11,903,144.00 11,789,296.00 
			 120 Wealstun 17,246,355.00 16,543,704.00 
			 121 Weare (The) 8,025,496.84 8,177,635.84 
			 122 Wellingborough 11,252,974.00 10,914,454.00 
			 123 Werrington 6,871,995.00 6,862,585.00 
			 124 Wetherby 12,503,780.00 12,554,959.00 
			 125 Whatton 7,644,923.00 7,593,862.00 
			 126 Whitemoor 26,018,395.60 25,976,815.00 
			 127 Winchester 15,905,572.00 15,563,780.00 
			 129 Woodhill 27,799,691.82 27,901,035.00 
			 130 Wormwood Scrubs 28,280,356.00 28,952,573.00 
			 131 Wymott 21,154,820.00 20,838,883.00 
			  Total 1,780,527,322.05 1,789,761,387.10 
		
	
	
		Table 2
		
			 Establishment(83) Cost (£) 
		
		
			 Altcourse 31,158,524 
			 Ashfield 13,040,682 
			 Doncaster 19,097,051 
			 Dovegate 22,287,437 
			 Forest Bank 20,863,919 
			 Lowdham Grange 12,347,364 
			 Parc 31,240,577 
			 Rye Hill 14,202,366 
			 Wolds 6,776,755 
			 Total 171,014,675 
		
	
	(83) Table does not include Bronzefield and Peterborough, both of which opened after the reporting period.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suicides there have been in each of the last 12 months, broken down by prison.

Fiona Mactaggart: The number of apparently self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales, July 2004–June 2005 is provided in the table.
	Reducing the number of such tragic incidents is a key priority, and an unprecedented amount of work is being done in this area.
	The number of apparently self-inflicted deaths fluctuates. The four deaths in April and May this year represent the lowest in a two month period since 1992. Sadly, sometimes there are also apparent 'clusters' of self-inflicted deaths, such as the 16 deaths in June. Each death will be the subject of a coroner's inquest and a thorough investigation by the prisons and probation ombudsman. The Prison Service and contracted prisons will be looking to see if there are any early lessons to learn and act on.
	
		
			   Month   Establishment Number of apparently self-inflicted deaths 
		
		
			 July 2004 Blakenhurst 1 
			  High Down 1 
			  Liverpool 1 
			  Low Newton 1 
			  Manchester 1 
			  New Hall 1 
			
			 August 2004 Acklington 1 
			  Birmingham 1 
			  Bullingdon 1 
			  Dartmoor 1 
			  Elmley 1 
			  Exeter 1 
			  Leeds 2 
			  Norwich 1 
			  Shrewsbury 2 
			  Wakefield 1 
			  Wormwood Scrubs 2 
			
			 September 2004 Acklington 1 
			  Brixton 1 
			  Manchester 2 
			  Norwich 1 
			  Rochester 1 
			  Shrewsbury 1 
			  Wakefield 1 
			
			 October 2004 Brockhill 1 
			  Durham 1 
			  Hull 1 
			  Kingston—Portsmouth 1 
			  Leicester 1 
			  Manchester 1 
			  New Hall 1 
			  Pentonville 2 
			 November 2004 Lincoln 1 
			  Manchester 1 
			  Swansea 1 
			  The Verne 1 
			  Wormwood Scrubs 1 
			
			 December 2004 Bedford 1 
			  Bullingdon 1 
			  Liverpool 1 
			
			 January 2005 Exeter 1 
			  Lancaster Farms 1 
			  Stoke Heath 1 
			  Swaleside 1 
			
			 February 2005 Altcourse 1 
			  Brinsford 1 
			  Gloucester 1 
			  New Hall 1 
			  Wandsworth 2 
			  Wymott 1 
			
			 March 2005 Chelmsford 1 
			  Full Sutton 1 
			  Holme House 1 
			  Leeds 1 
			  Lowdham Grange 1 
			  Preston 1 
			  Rye Hill 1 
			  Wakefield 1 
			
			 April 2005 Brixton 1 
			  Gloucester 1 
			
			 May 2005 Leicester 1 
			  Swansea 1 
			 June 2005 Bristol 1 
			  Dorchester 1 
			  Durham 1 
			  Eastwood Park 1 
			  Gloucester 2 
			  Leicester 1 
			  Liverpool 4 
			  Norwich 1 
			  Pentonville 2 
			  Reading 1 
			  Weare 1

Re-offenders

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of current prisoners are repeat offenders.

Fiona Mactaggart: Of the sentenced prison population at 30 June 2002, 70 percent. of young males, 77 percent. of adult males and 50 percent. of adult females had at least one previous conviction for a standard list offence. More detailed figures available in the table.
	
		Population in prison establishments under sentence by number of previous convictions, age group and sex, England and Wales, 30 June 2002 Percentage
		
			 Previous convictions Young male offenders Adult male offenders Adult female offenders 
		
		
			 Nil 17 15 37 
			 1–2 18 12 12 
			 3–6 26 17 14 
			 7–10 16 14 9 
			 11 and over 10 34 15 
			 Unknown(84) 13 8 13 
		
	
	(84) The criminal history of the prison population was obtained by matching prison records to the Home Office criminal database, the offenders index. Information could not be matched for 13 percent. of young male offenders, 8 percent. of adult males and 13 percent. of adult females in prison at 30 June 2002 and thus previous convictions for these offenders could not be found.

Sebastian John D'Souza

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam concerning his constituent Mr. Sebastian John D'Souza, dated 18 May, ref D'Souza/180505/Stonecot/by.

Tony McNulty: I wrote to hon. Member on 15 July.

Secure Training Centres

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many child protection matters have been referred to the local child protection team at each secure training centre; and what the outcome was of each referral.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 11 July 2005
	The following table sets out the available data.
	
		References of secure training centre trainees to local child protection teams
		
			 Centre 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Medway (87)— (88)27 (88)16 (88)6 
			  
			 Rainsbrook (87)— (87)— (88)2 0 
			  
			 Hassockfield (88)45 (88)31 (88)35 (88)9 
			  — — (89)1 (89)2 
			  — — (90)1 — 
			  
			 Oakhill (opened August 2004) — — (88)26 (88)12 
			  — — — (89)1 
			  — — — (91)1 
		
	
	(87) Data not readily available.
	(88) No further action by CP team or police.
	(89) Matter outstanding.
	(90) Employment of one staff member terminated following charge for alleged assault.
	(91) CP team advised dismissal of staff member following inappropriate use of restraint.
	Note:
	Where there is no further action by Child Protection team (CP) or the police, the allegations are subject to the centre's internal investigation procedures. Details of these outcomes are not held centrally.

Work Permit System (Ethnic Minorities)

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely effect of his proposals for changes to the work permit system on ethnic minority businesses in the catering sector in relation to their ability to recruit skilled staff from the Indian sub-continent; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Government's plans for changes to the work permits system and for current sector based schemes are outlined in "Controlling our borders: making migration work for Britain" the five-year plan for asylum and immigration. The Government are committed to ensuring that UK employers have access to the skills and experience they need in order to maximise the economic benefits to the UK from migration. Skilled migrant workers should be enabled to fill vacancies which cannot be filled from within the UK or EU.
	The written ministerial statement on 23 June announced that, following a review of the scheme and in the light of additional labour available from the new EU countries, the current sectors based scheme for the hospitality sector would be ended. The findings of that review have been placed on work permits (UK)'s website. If additional needs are identified in future, small tightly managed quota-based schemes will be established for specific shortage areas for fixed periods.